Black Friday discounts could depend on retailers’ supply chain struggles: experts

Black Friday is officially Nov. 26 this year, while Cyber Monday is on Nov. 29. But sales have been running for several weeks already.

Amid the flashy flyers and promotional emails, a divide has emerged between big and small retailers this Black Friday.

On one side, retail giants with sophisticated supply chains and robust inventory levels. They’re offering deep and widespread discounts, often coupled with free shipping and no interest payment plans.

On the other side, smaller stores struggling with ongoing supply chain headaches and rising costs, with less capacity for big markdowns.

For consumers, it means the best deals may not be on the items they want, or from the retailers they’d prefer to shop with.

“Many retailers have backed off on their discounts a little bit because they don’t have the inventory to support those blockbuster deals,” retail analyst Bruce Winder says. “The sales are underwhelming.”

Smaller brands and independent retailers tend to be offering sales around 25 per cent off regular prices, with some deeper discounting on past-season and discontinued items.

Canadian apparel brand Duer, for example, is offering modest discounts on its most popular classic items, with bigger sales on its out-of-season items or styles that haven’t sold as well.

“We offer some discounts on our … core styles during Black Friday,” says Michael Macintyre, chief operating officer of Vancouver-based Duer. “But the deeper discounts are on those seasonal or discontinued items.”