WASHINGTON DC – With a short notice sent to a handful of Web sites last week, the largest retailer in the world put a damper on the biggest shopping day of the year for die-hard bargain hunters.
For those who trawl the Web hoping for any edge in finding the best price on the most sought-after item on their holiday shopping lists, finding Black Friday ads ahead of time helps them plot out a retail attack, CNET News.Com reported. Tracking down the best bargains available on the day after Thanksgiving has become a game for both shoppers and the site owners, who race to see who can get the ads bearing the lowest prices online the earliest.
But Wal-Mart Stores isn’t sharing Black Friday fans’ fun. A note sent to about 10 Web sites from a Washington, D.C., law firm on behalf of the retailer warned of “criminal penalties” if any of the sites post any of Wal-Mart’s Black Friday advertisements prior to November 19, four days before Black Friday. So far, Best Buy and Circuit City representatives have said they won’t be taking legal action if their ads show up on the Web too soon, according to Reuters.
“Over the last couple years it’s been kind of an arms escalation between the Web sites and the retailers,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD Group. “Three years ago it was just a few token Web sites and nobody cared. But the last couple years they’ve been aggressively soliciting people to find these ads and send them in. Retailers have threatened lawsuits, and since most of these sites are small operators or a single guy and can’t really stand up to that kind of (legal) pressure.”
So far, it appears Wal-Mart’s threat has worked. Many Black Friday sites have said that they will comply, though they’re not happy about it.
In fairness, while it seems like Wal-Mart is being a spoilsport, the retail giant’s ire is understandable: The ads are a valuable part of its pricing strategy, and when its competitors know of Wal-Mart’s price-slashing plans early enough, they can alter their own prices midstream. Plus, the ads are copyrighted information, whether we like to think of them that way or not.
It’s no secret that Wal-Mart is able to offer some of the best bargains in the retail business. So why should the biggest retailer in the world be concerned with a few one-man Web sites? “In general, Wal-Mart’s competition knows that Wal-Mart is going to be the most aggressive guy out there, this year they know that as well, they just don’t know (for example) the specific notebook model that will be $199,” said Samir Bhavnani, analyst with Current Analysis West.
By sending the notices, Wal-Mart is admitting that it (and most other retailers) can’t keep a lid on its holiday prices thanks to the many different entities (printers, publishers, and others) that have a hand in creating the Sunday circular ads. So when all else fails, bring in the lawyers.
Wal-Mart did not send this type of notices last year, said company spokesman John Simley. While the company has had communication with some Black Friday Web sites before, never has it taken action this early. But Wal-Mart executives want to make clear what’s out of bounds before the ads head to publishers.
“The idea is by the time you send a cease-and-desist letter (which some retailers have done in the past) it’s already too late,” Simley said. “This really is to prevent that from happening in the first place.”
Every major retailer has a Web presence now too, which complicates the price-slashing game among retailers even further. “Nowadays you can be a lot closer to the point of sale because of the Internet” and still react, said Baker. “You can do Web-only specials, you can try to drive people to your Web site (to) buy online and pickup (merchandise) in the store.”
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