Swift had the Thanksgiving weekend off from her Eras Tour before it wraps with three shows in Vancouver beginning Dec. 6.
Swift walked down the tunnel into Arrowhead Stadium wearing a black outfit and red jacket as camera flashes created a strobe-like effect. Her arrival at Chiefs games over the past year-plus — ever since she started dating Kelce, who had reached out to her with an invitation to a game — has become a red-carpet moment for both local and national media.
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Earlier in the day, Target stores across the country began selling an exclusive book devoted to the Eras Tour along with a bonus edition of her “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” that it said would only be available in stores on Black Friday.
There also are two new Christmas movies on television that have Swift connections.
“Christmas in the Spotlight,” which premiered Nov. 23 on Lifetime, stars Jessica Lord as a pop star and Laith Wallschleger as a football player who meets and falls in love. The script was written by Eirene Tran Donohue, who said she was inspired to write a script loosely based on her favorite musician after watching Swift and Kelce’s relationship blossom.
On Saturday, Hallmark will air “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story,” which centers on a new Chiefs employee (Tyler Hynes) who meets a woman — played by Hunter King — whose family’s dedication to the team goes back decades. The story was written by Sherman Wolfe, a 49ers fan who was asked to pen it after the Chiefs beat San Francisco in the Super Bowl.
“Holiday Touchdown” has several cameos involving Chiefs players along with a small role for Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce. The team celebrated its pending release Friday by handing out small pennants and pins to fans at the game.
Retailers used giveaways and big discounts to reward U.S. shoppers who ventured out for Black Friday even as earlier offers, the prospect of better bargains in the days ahead, and the ease of e-commerce drained much of the excitement from the holiday shopping season’s much-hyped kickoff.
Frequent deals throughout the month and more awaiting on Cyber Monday gave consumers less of a reason to squabble over store shelves while trying to get their hands on TVs or toys. But shopping malls and merchants big and small used the day after Thanksgiving to entice customers into physical stores at a time when many prefer to browse and buy online.
Some Target shoppers lined up as early as 11:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day to get their hands on an exclusive book devoted to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and a bonus edition of her “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” album. Although both will be available to purchase online starting Saturday, many locations sold out their supply of the products, the discount retailer said.
At a Target in Southfield, Michigan, a few miles north of Detroit, Marge Evans, 32, used her cellphone to take and send photos of shirts, sweaters, and other apparel with Black Friday markdowns. Her shopping cart was full, but she was shopping for an upcoming cruise with her fiance, not Christmas.
“I’ll see what things are looking like the first week in January,” the 32-year-old massage therapist said. “Really, after the holidays are over is when the real deals come through. They get rid of everything.”
Industry analysts observed Black Friday shoppers displaying the same choosy, deal-driven behavior many U.S. consumers exhibited all year while adjusting prices after the period of inflation that started toward the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
At many stores, the huge crowds of Black Fridays past never returned after the pandemic. A Walmart in Germantown, Maryland, had only half of the parking spots filled on Friday morning. Some shoppers were returning items or buying groceries.
Bharatharaj Moruejsan, a 35-year-old software engineer, decided to check out Walmart’s offers because he was jet-lagged after returning from a month-long family vacation to India. He scored an iPad for his 1-year-old daughter for $250, 32% off its original $370 price tag.
“That’s a good deal,” Moruejsan said.
After visiting stores and shopping centers on Long Island, Marshal Cohen, chief retail adviser at market research firm Circana, said that apart from people lining up for Target’s Taylor Swift merchandise, the number of shoppers appeared typical.
“The spreading out of the holidays has created the lack of need and lack of urgency,” said Cohen, who had a 20-person team monitoring crowds nationwide. “This is going to be a long, slow tedious process” of getting shoppers to buy, he said.
Michael Brown, a partner at management consulting firm Kearney, saw no lines at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, 10 minutes before the 7 a.m. opening.
“It’s not the old Black Friday that we used to know,” he said.
Retailers that offered at least 40% off drove shoppers’ attention, according to Brown. For example, Forever 21 had 50% to 70% discounts and had lines to the stores, while H&M, which offered 30% discounts, was relatively quiet.
Enough consumers still enjoy holiday shopping in person that Black Friday nonetheless was expected to retain its crown remains the biggest day of the year for retail foot traffic in the U.S., according to retail technology company Sensormatic Solutions.
At Macy’s Herald Square in Manhattan, the setting for the 1947 Christmas movie “Miracle on 34th Street,” a steady stream of shoppers early Friday found some shoes and handbags priced half-off, special occasion dresses marked down by 30%, and 60% off the store’s luxury bedding brand.
Keressa Clark, 50, and her daughter Morghan, 27, who were visiting New York from Wilmington, North Carolina, arrived at 6:15 a.m.
“I am actually shocked to see so many Black Friday deals because so many things are online,” Morghan Clark said.
Karessa Clark, who works as a nurse practitioner, said President-elect Donald Trump’s pending return to the White House made her feel better about the economy. She plans to spend $2,000 this holiday season, about $500 more than a year ago.
Julie Rambo, a retired school teacher, shoved aside her worries about the incoming Trump administration as she shopped with her grandchildren at Target in Southfield, Michigan.
Rambo, 74, said she was “totally, completely scared of tariffs because I’m still going to need an automobile,” but it was a problem to confront later. As she does each year, she was primarily looking for Christmas gifts through a prison ministry for children with parents who are incarcerated.
“As we’re shopping, we find things for ourselves too,” Rambo said.
Online sales figures from Thanksgiving Day gave retailers a reason to remain hopeful for a lucrative end to the year.
Vivek Pandya, the lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said consumers spent a record $6.1 billion online Thursday, 8.8% more than on Thanksgiving last year. Bigger-than-expected discounts helped spur spending on electronics, apparel, and other categories, Pandya said.
Across the board, Black Friday weekend discounts should peak at 30% on Cyber Monday and then retreat to around 15%, according to Adobe’s research.
Analysts forecast a solid holiday shopping season overall in the U.S., though perhaps not as robust as last year. Retailers were even more under the gun to get shoppers to buy early and in bulk since there are five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.
Shoppers at Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie, Louisiana, were treated to a glass of champagne and a $50 gift receipt.
“This is a nice touch. I was just talking to my best friend and rehashing over Thanksgiving so this was a nice little treat after that conversation. Everyone needs a little drink,” said Faren Kennedy, a Houston resident who was in town visiting family and wanted to stop at the mall for the nostalgia of Black Friday shopping.
At Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, some 13,000 people showed up the first hour of its 7 a.m. opening, roughly 1,000 more than a year ago, according to Jill Renslow, the mall’s chief business development and marketing officer.
The mall was on target to exceed the 200,000 Black Friday customer visits it received in 2023, Renslow said. Stores with deep discounts and promotions were the most packed, she said, citing Lego’s giveaway of a free retro record player with a $250 purchase.
Stephen Lebovitz, CEO of CBL Properties, which operates 85 shopping properties, and Bill Taubman, president and chief operating officer of upscale mall landlord Taubman Realty Group, also said customer visits were up.
Black Friday no longer is an American-only sales event. Retailers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the U.K. also appealed to holiday shoppers looking to save money.
In India, about 200 Amazon warehouse workers and delivery drivers, rallied Friday in New Delhi, some wearing masks of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, to demand better wages and working conditions. Similar protests were planned in other countries.
The holiday shopping season is now here, and Americans are ready to splurge. The average U.S. shopper expects to spend more than US$1,000 on gifts for Christmas and other winter holidays this year, surveys show.
These days, consumers have no shortage of payment options, each seemingly more enticing than the last. Do you swipe your credit card and pick up “free” miles? Do you use buy-now-pay-later and spread the payments out over time? Do you use a debit card to avoid going into debt?
As a business school professor who writes about the holiday shopping season, I’ve been thinking about the best way to pay for holiday gifts without breaking the bank. My advice, found in my forthcoming book The Power of Cash, is counterintuitive. Don’t use any of these things. Instead, use good old-fashioned paper money.
Yes, using cash instead of paying electronically is a simple way to control your holiday spending while even helping others. And I speak from personal experience.
Why cash is less likely to set you back
Before spending any money, it is important to set a holiday budget. The problem is that while everyone thinks setting a budget is a good idea, few people do it, and even fewer stick to it.
Budgeting is like dieting: Temptation and time pressure cause the best intentions to fail.
I’ve seen this in my own life. One holiday season I carefully set a budget. However, with only hours left before exchanging presents, I didn’t have anything for my three nieces. In my desperation, I wildly overspent on gifts I doubt they ever used.
Using cash can help you avoid making the same mistake I did. It works for some simple reasons:
First, committing to just using paper money provides an automatic method of budgeting. When you’re out of cash, you’re done shopping. Now I don’t recommend putting all of your money into your wallet at once. Instead, take only a portion of your budgeted cash when going shopping, or if you are taking all of it, split the money up and keep some in a separate reserve.
Second, using cash helps you spend less because of the “pain of paying.” Spending paper money causes a momentary feeling of regret, research in consumer psychology shows. This in turn helps slow down purchases. People don’t feel the same pain when they use credit cards, because the bill comes due in the future.
Third, in the long run, paying cash for things is cheaper because you don’t have to pay interest on purchases. About half of all credit card users carry a balance each month. With the average balance currently over $6,000, the interest alone on charging gifts can cost you hundreds of dollars.
And one more point: Many people buy holiday gifts for themselves, and research shows that paying cash makes you initially treasure a purchase more than when paying with electronic means. Cash payers feel stronger ownership because they made a “mental investment” in the item.
Using cash while shopping online
It’s easy to use cash for in-person purchases, but you can’t stick paper money through a computer or phone screen to make online purchases. Yet this holiday shopping season, online purchases are expected to break $240 billion.
It is possible to use cash only, even if you’re relying on e-commerce. A simple method is to purchase an online retailer’s gift card using cash and add that gift card to your account’s balance. If you want to spend more, you will need to physically get out to a place selling cards like your local supermarket, and spend cash.
This triggers the pain of paying and also takes a bit of time, allowing you to think about whether this is really the right gift and the right amount to spend on it.
One final point: The holiday season isn’t supposed to be just an exercise in consumerism. Instead, one goal is helping others. Paying for gifts with cash actually does this. There are many people without credit cards, debit cards, or mobile payment apps who are excluded from shops that refuse to take cash.
People without electronic methods are primarily poor and elderly. Millions of Americans are cash payers, surveys show, so using cash helps them because it provides a clear signal to businesses that paper money is still wanted and needed.
The holidays are supposed to be fun, but they’re not so enjoyable if you are stressing about money. How do you stick to a budget and ensure you don’t have huge bills to pay after the holidays are over? The answer is simple: Use cash. By itself, cash won’t make the holidays a jolly time, but it removes one big problem.
As Black Friday approaches, retailers are navigating a complex landscape of consumer behavior. While overall spending remains relatively robust, the picture is far from uniform. Shoppers, increasingly cautious due to inflation and potential tariff hikes, are becoming more selective about their purchases.
Winners and Losers
- Value-Focused Retailers: Companies like Walmart and Amazon are thriving by offering low prices and a wide range of products. Walmart's focus on value and its ability to attract higher-income shoppers have contributed to its strong performance. Amazon's e-commerce dominance and its aggressive pricing strategies, including the new Amazon Haul feature, have also positioned it well.
- Discount Retailers: TJX Companies (T.J. Maxx and Marshalls) and Ross Stores are benefiting from their treasure-hunt shopping experience and the ability to offer discounted brand-name merchandise.
- Premium Retailers: Some higher-end retailers, like Williams-Sonoma, are performing well, especially those catering to affluent consumers.
- Struggling Retailers: Department stores like Macy's and Kohl's are facing challenges due to increased competition from discounters and online retailers. Home improvement retailers like Lowe's and Home Depot are also struggling as higher interest rates deter big-ticket purchases.
Key Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior
- Inflation and Interest Rates: Rising costs and higher borrowing costs are impacting consumer spending, particularly on discretionary items.
- Tariff Concerns: The threat of tariffs on imported goods is prompting some consumers to accelerate their purchases.
- Shifting Consumer Preferences: Shoppers are increasingly prioritizing value and convenience, leading to a shift towards discount retailers and online shopping.
The Outlook for the Holiday Season
While the overall outlook for the holiday season is positive, the path forward is uncertain. A strong performance in the final weeks of the year could be driven by factors such as post-election relief and potential tariff-related spending. However, the long-term impact of inflation, interest rates, and changing consumer preferences remains to be seen.
As retailers navigate these challenges, they must adapt to the evolving needs of consumers and focus on providing value, convenience, and a seamless shopping experience.
The first big snow of the season threatened to bury towns in New York along lakes Erie and Ontario during a hectic holiday travel and shopping weekend.
In Michigan, heavy lake-effect snow in northern parts of the state was expected to continue into the weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Gaylord. Some areas of the Upper Peninsula could see up to 3 feet (0.9 meters) of snow Sunday night through Monday, National Weather Service meteorologist Lily Chapman said.
As flakes began flying Friday, New York state forecasters warned that 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 meters) of blowing and drifting snow could fall in Watertown and other areas east of Lake Ontario through Monday.
After an unusually mild fall, as much as 2 to 3 feet (0.6 to 0.9 meters) of snow were possible along Lake Erie and south of Buffalo from lake-effect bands notorious for pummeling the region with snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) per hour. Lake-effect snow happens when warm moist air rising from a body of water mixes with cold dry air overhead.
“The lake is 50 degrees (10 degrees Celsius). We’re about six degrees above where we should be this time of year, that’s why we’re seeing these heavy lake-effect events,” Erie County Public Works Commissioner William Geary said. “The outlook for the next two weeks into December, is we’ll probably see some more.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency for the targeted counties, allowing state agencies to mobilize resources. Rapidly deteriorating conditions Friday caused closures along Interstate 90, and tandem and commercial vehicles were banned from Interstate 86 in western New York and much of state Route 219 beginning Friday afternoon.
“There’s a considerable number of vehicles going off the road on the 219 currently,” Gregory Butcher, Erie County deputy director for preparedness and homeland security, said at an afternoon briefing.
ATVs and snowmobiles were being placed around the county to help first responders if necessary, Butcher said.
The Buffalo Bills called for volunteers to potentially shovel snow at Highmark Stadium, where over 2 feet (0.6 meters) of snow was possible before Sunday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. Last year, a major lake-effect storm forced the NFL to push back the Bills wild-card playoff home game against Pittsburgh from Sunday to Monday.
“It’s going to be slow going, there’s no doubt about that,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said, adding the heaviest snow is expected to be over by kickoff.
The team, meanwhile, was preparing to play in any conditions.
“We’re trying to stay on top of it,” coach Sean McDermott said Friday.
The Bills are 9-2, their best start since 1992, and with a win Sunday, they would clinch their fifth straight AFC East title.
Lake-effect snow also covered parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in a system that is expected to last through the weekend. The area was blanketed in snow by Friday afternoon, with some places already measuring more than a foot (0.3 meters) of snow.
“We’ve got this westerly, northwesterly flow regime and this chilly air mass over the U.P.,” said Chapman of the National Weather Service. “So it’s a pretty good setup for this long-duration lake-effect snowfall event.”
Gusty winds, especially near the Great Lakes, have impacted visibility in Michigan and Chapman urged caution on the roads.
Joe DeLizio, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Gaylord, said visibility on roads was low but he hadn’t been made aware of any major accidents so far.
“Haven’t heard too much as far as problems, but obviously travel is pretty difficult,” DeLizio said.