Retail Executives Less Optimistic About Black Friday in Survey {warning: bloomberg link}

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-16/retail-executives-less-optimistic-about-black-friday-in-survey.html

Retailers’ chief marketing officers are less optimistic about sales growth on Black Friday than they were a year earlier as increasing competition prompts stores to boost discounts, according to a survey by BDO USA.

Purchases on Nov. 25, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday, may rise 1.6 percent, the average estimate of 100 executives in BDO’s survey conducted last month. That compares with an average projection of a 3.8 percent increase in the survey last year.

“It’s not a home run by any means, but it’s positive growth,” Ted Vaughan, a partner at BDO’s retail and consumer practice in Dallas, said in an interview. Black Friday’s importance has diminished as retailers start advertising holiday deals earlier, he said.

Black Friday serves as the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season when retailers lure shoppers to stores with discounts and giveaways. Sales on the day rose 0.3 percent last year, according to Chicago-based ShopperTrak. Sales for the weekend after Thanksgiving gained 6.4 percent last year, according to the National Retail Federation.