NEW YORK (AP) — After weeks of plugging increasingly inviting discounts, retailers in the United States and several other countries are preparing for prime time: Black Friday, the bargain bonanza that still reigns as the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season even if it's lost some luster.
Department stores, shopping malls and merchants — big and small — see the day after Thanksgiving as a way to energize shoppers and to get them into physical stores at a time when many gift-seekers are content to do their browsing online. There are enough traditionalists that Black Friday remains the biggest day of the year for retail foot traffic.
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A shopper looks at handbags at Macy's department store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
FILE - Shoppers and others walk down a crowded sidewalk on Black Friday in the Soho neighborhood of New York, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie, File)
A sign promoting Black Friday deals sits on table with a display of mirrorless cameras in a Best Buy store Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in south Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Items on sale for $5 are displayed at a Five Below store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
Items on sale for Black Friday are displayed at Macy's department store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
Shoppers pass a Christmas tree at the Bergdorf Goodman store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
“I’m excited about it,” Texas resident Emily Phillips said while visiting the Galleria Dallas last week. “I save up all the things that I want all year and usually try and get them around Black Friday. I prefer to shop in person because then I can try stuff on. It’s a better experience.”
In the U.S., analysts envision a solid holiday shopping season, though perhaps not as robust as last year’s, with many shoppers under financial pressure and cautious with their discretionary spending despite the easing of inflation.
Retailers will be even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there are five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.
Mall of America, in Bloomington, Minnesota, is giving the first 200 people in line at the center's north entrance a $25 gift card. Target is offering an exclusive book devoted to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour and a bonus edition of her “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” album that only will be available in stores on Black Friday before customers can buy them online starting Saturday.
Best Buy has introduced an extended-release version of the doorbuster, the limited-time daily discounts that for years were all the rage — and sometimes the spark for actual brawls — before the coronavirus pandemic. The nation’s largest consumer electronics chain has released doorbuster deals on its app, online and in stores every Friday since Nov. 8 and plans to continue the weekly promotion through Dec. 20.
“(Stores) are very hungry for Black Friday to do well,” Marshal Cohen, chief retail advisor at market research firm Circana, said. “They recognize that they’re not going to clobber and win big growth in online because the pie has gotten so competitive. They have to find a way to win in the stores.”
Impulse purchases and self-gifting are a potential area for big sales growth, and business isn't going to increase without them, Cohen said. Shoppers are three times more likely to buy on impulse at a physical store than online, according to Circana research.
Shoppers stepped up their spending at American retailers in October, the Commerce Department said. Although sales at auto dealers drove much of the gain, electronics and appliance stores, and bars and restaurants also saw increased purchases, a sign of healthy consumer spending.
The latest quarterly results from Best Buy, Target and other retailers, however, underscored that some will have an easier time than others getting customers to part with their cash.
Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, is heading into the holidays with strong momentum after ratcheting up better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter sales for toys, home goods and groceries. But Target reported sluggish quarterly sales as cautious consumers curtailed their spending on apparel and other non-essential items.
Many retailers pushed holiday sales earlier in October than they did last year to help shoppers spread out their spending.
Shoppers were distracted heading into this month's U.S. presidential election. Sales of general merchandise dropped 9% the two weeks ended Nov. 9, according to Circana, but have been rebounding since the election.
The National Retail Federation predicted that shoppers would increase their spending in November and December by between 2.5% and 3.5% over the same period a year ago. During the 2023 holiday shopping season, spending increased 3.9% over 2022.
So far this holiday season, online sales have beaten expectations, according to Adobe Digital Insights, a division of software company Adobe. U.S. consumers spent $77.4 billion online from Nov. 1 to Nov. 24, 9.6% more than during the same period last year. Adobe predicted an 8.4% increase for the full season.
Despite the early sales, better bargains are coming with Black Friday, according to Adobe. Analysts consider the five-day Black Friday weekend, which includes Cyber Monday, a key barometer of shoppers’ willingness to spend for the rest of the season.
Vivek Pandya, the lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said shoppers are paying more attention to discounts than last year, and their focus on bargain-hunting will drive what sells and when.
For example, Thanksgiving Day is the best time to shop online to get the deepest discount on sporting goods, toys, furniture and appliances, according to Adobe's analysis. But Black Friday is the best time to buy TVs online. People shopping for televisions earlier in the season found discounts that averaged 10.8%, while waiting until this Friday is expected to yield 24% discounts, Adobe Digital Insights said.
Cyber Monday, however, is expected to be the best time to buy clothing and gadgets like phones and computers online. Electronics discounts peaked at 10.9% off the suggested manufacturer's price between Nov. 1 and Nov. 24 but are expected to hit 30% off on Cyber Monday, Adobe said.
Across the board, Black Friday weekend discounts should peak at 30% on Cyber Monday and then go down to around 15%, according to Adobe’s research.
For physical stores, the day after Thanksgiving is slated to again mark the busiest single shopping day of the season, according to retail technology company Sensormatic Solutions, which tracks retail foot traffic.
“Black Friday is still an incredibly important day for retailers,” Grant Gustafson, head of retail consulting and analytics at Sensormatic. “It’s important for them to be able to get shoppers into their store to show them that experience of what it’s like to browse and touch and feel items. It also can be a bellwether for retailers on what to expect for the rest of the holiday season.”
Mall of America hopes to surpass the 12,000 shoppers it saw last year within the first hour of its 7 a.m. opening.
“People come to get the deals, but more importantly, they come for the excitement, the energy, the traditions surrounding Black Friday,” Jill Renslow, the mall's chief business development and marketing officer, said.
A shopper looks at handbags at Macy's department store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
FILE - Shoppers and others walk down a crowded sidewalk on Black Friday in the Soho neighborhood of New York, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie, File)
A sign promoting Black Friday deals sits on table with a display of mirrorless cameras in a Best Buy store Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in south Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Items on sale for $5 are displayed at a Five Below store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
Items on sale for Black Friday are displayed at Macy's department store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
Shoppers pass a Christmas tree at the Bergdorf Goodman store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah militants are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese militant group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
Frankel reported from northern Israel. Associated Press writer Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel contributed.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
A man inspects a house that was destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Displaced residents hug as they stand in front of the rubble of their destroyed house in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Displaced residents hug as they stand in front of the rubble of their destroyed house in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Zeina Rida Jawhari, reacts after recovering a photo of her father from the rubble of her destroyed house in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A woman inspects buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man inspects a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Displaced residents drive past destroyed buildings as they return to Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Bassam Hatoum)
Residents walk past destroyed buildings as they return to Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Bassam Hatoum)
Displaced residents drive past destroyed buildings as they return to Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Bassam Hatoum)
A boy holds a Hezbollah's flag, as displaced residents return to Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Bassam Hatoum)
Residents walk past destroyed buildings as they return to Qana village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A man lowers a bag of his family's clothing from the roof of his destroyed house after he returned to his village of Hanouiyeh, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A South Korean U.N peacekeeper armoured vehicle drives by destroyed buildings in Chehabiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A person stands next to remains and his family destroyed house after he returned to Chehabiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A woman collects the remains of her destroyed house after she returned to Chehabiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Residents walk on the rubble of destroyed buildings after they returned to Qana village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A man sits on the rubble of a destroyed house in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A South Korean U.N peacekeeper patrol drive past destroyed buildings in Chehabiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A damaged vehicle seen in front of part of the Roman temples of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man stands on the rubble of a destroyed building that housed his apartment in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A damaged vehicle seen in front of part of the Roman temples of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Damaged vehicles seen in front part of the Roman temples of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A damaged vehicle seen in front of part of the Roman temples of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Damaged vehicles seen in front of the Roman temples of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents check their destroyed neighborhood in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A resident checks a destroyed apartment in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents rebuild their houses damaged in Israeli airstrikes, in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents start rebuilding their houses damaged in Israeli airstrikes, in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A resident checks a library in a damaged house, in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man inspects a house damaged in Israeli airstrikes, in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man who was injured in Israeli airstrikes, sits in his shop near destroyed buildings in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents inspect a destroyed neighbourhood in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
An elderly man walks near damaged buildings in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Damaged vehicles seen in front of the Roman temples of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
