Traditionalists might balk, but the holiday shopping season is already underway. Skeptical? Head to your local department store and you'll be inundated by Christmas trees and ornaments. Bargain hunters, though, know that the real deals are more than a month away.
Black Friday, traditionally, is when retailers truly slash prices. Early birds can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off of their holiday bills. Switched.com checked with a few elves, who gave a sneak peek at what you can expect deal-wise this year.
Blu-ray Players and Movies: Blu-ray is shaping up to be the biggest door buster of this year's Black Friday. de Grandpre expects at least one retailer will offer a Blu-ray player for just $49. Look for bargains on Blu-ray films as well, with last year's hit titles (such as "Iron Man") to fall as low as $5.
Laptops: With the proliferation of Netbooks this year, it's never been easier to find affordable portable computing, but Dan de Grandpre, CEO of DealNews.com says it will get even cheaper on Black Friday. Look for well-equipped Netbooks to sell for $199 – and basic 15" laptops to go for as little as $249.
HDTVs (Pretty big): The holidays are typically the best time to buy a new TV – and Black Friday is the time to do it. If you're looking for a normal sized set, you're in luck. Piper Jaffrey analyst Mitch Kaiser says he expects to see 32-inch LCD sets for as low as $299. GottaDeal.com is estimating 37-inch plasma and LCD sets will fall to $399 or less.
HDTVs (Really big): Need something bigger? How about a 46-47 inch LCD set for $599 – a 25 percent savings? Or a 52-inch LCD for $999? Dealnews says you can expect both. Plasma deals will be a little harder to come by, but a 50-inch set should run roughly $899.
HD Camcorders: You've wanted to shoot your child's school play in HD for a while, but haven't been able to spring for the pricey camcorder. This might be the year. Low-end, flash-based 720p models could drop as low as $60 (though you won't be able to zoom with those). Expect a high quality 1080p HD camcorder for $349.
GPS: While navigation systems have dramatically expanded their reach this year – even making it onto the iPhone – there's still a market for car-based systems. Dealnews predicts you'll be able to find a no-name entry-level system for $49, while a Garmin or Tom-Tom brand will be as low as $69.
Digital Picture Frames: Showcasing your digital pictures consistently gets cheaper. This year, skip the 7-inch screens and focus on the 8- or 9-inch ones, which should be available on Black Friday for as little as $30.
Monitors: Computer monitors might not be the sexiest of gifts, but they're usually welcomed with open arms – and they'll be cheap this year. Name brand 22-inch LCD models may go for as low as $99, while 24-inch models will drop below $150.
Memory: Don't know anyone who needs a monitor? External hard drives are always popular, since they're an easy way to back-up data. Dealnews expects a 1TB drive to fall as low as $49 this year. Gottadeal is looking for 8GB flash drives to hit $15.
_thumbnail.jpg "Vintage Keyboards")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Amanda said 9:31AM on 3-03-2009
This is a cute idea.
Reply
blonger said 3:14PM on 3-15-2009
There is no doubting Hershey’s success as a chocolatier over the last century, but does this recent brand extension hinder that image?
There will always be pro’s and con’s to extending a brand. On one hand Hershey’s can be said to be moving away from its hundred year history which can have a negative impact, whilst on the other it can positively be seen as reinventing itself in an imaginative
way. In this particular case it could however be about more than just extending the brand; the company is also looking to increase awareness of its chocolate through different means.
These latest releases for example will lead to some news coverage and many contrasting views. For Hershey’s this can be beneficial. Many companies spend millions of pounds on advertisements without having the desired impact. This is especially the case with long established companies using the same marketing stimulus. Consumers stop paying attention as they show signs of advertising wear-out. Many consumers also have memory lapses when it comes to advertisements, either through the tendency to forget, generalising between two brands or telescoping; where consumers cannot recall timing.These Hershey’s releases can be a new type of marketing stimulus. If they are popular they can also create repetition, as the technological device coupled with the brand imagery will be used and seen by a considerable amount of people. This will hopefully induce potential consumers to think of Hershey’s and its many products in a positive, light-hearted way.
This can also be a means of starting the process of spreading activation. This process describes when a consumer who shifts back and forth between levels of meaning is introduced with a new potential product association. We as people code any type of information as an individual belief, known as a node. A group of these combined become what is known as a preposition and these can be integrated further to become a schema.
Altogether this makes it easier to process information as a topic can be remembered through associating it with others. Consumers can now link Hershey’s as a chocolate company with other types of nodes, like technology, innovation and even webcams. All of these together give the brand more meaning and help activation amongst consumers, which could lead to greater sales for the company.
Whether the new brand extension is successful or not only time will tell, but what is true is that Hershey’s is trying something new and unique which could add to its already established brand and provide the new marketing stimulus that will attract consumers
interest.
Reply