NEW YORK — As stores prepare for hordes of Black Friday shoppers and mark down high-definition TVs and hot toys, they’re also pushing deals on something more mundane — necessities such as socks and diapers.
Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and clothing stores in malls are responding to tough economic times by luring people who are making it a more practical holiday this year.
What should shoppers expect?
Fewer sumptuous sweaters, $200 robotic toys and other flashy items. Everyday items like flannel shirts, blankets and underwear are the order of the day.
They are designed to appeal to people like John La, a computer programmer from New York, who says he’ll focus on simpler things like gloves and sweaters after layoffs hit his company this year.
“I am not going to splurge,” he said.
Toys R Us’ Babies R Us stores are armed with deals on jumbo packs of diapers and baby food for their 5 a.m. opening on Black Friday.
Spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh expects shoppers will buy these staples not just for themselves but also as practical gifts.
Wal-Mart’s Black Friday promotions include $7 fleece jackets and $3 children’s pajamas alongside 50-inch Sanyo plasma HDTVs for $598.
The promotional blitz at the start of the holiday shopping season has high stakes this year for retailers that have suffered through a year of sales declines and for the economy, which could use a lift from consumer spending. Thanksgiving also falls late this year, meaning fewer shopping days.
The National Retail Federation expects Black Friday crowds to be bigger this year, but consultant Walter Loeb says spending for the weekend will be at best unchanged from last year.
People are still “very nervous about the future,” said Tracy Mullin, president of the federation. “But I think the good news is that stores get this new consumer, and the products are much less showy.”
Marcia Layton Turner, a freelance writer from Rochester, N.Y., plans to join the Black Friday crowds to grab deals on toys such as Legos and Wii games for her two children, ages 10 and 8.
“I did well last year by getting to stores before the 4 a.m. opening, so I’m hoping to be equally successful and efficient this year,” she said.
