UNT faculty members available to comment on holiday shopping, including "Black Thursday"
This year, Americans have 32 days, and five full weekends, to purchase holiday gifts between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, but that hasn't stopped some retailers from holding their own "Black Thursday" by opening on Thanksgiving.
Sears and Wal-Mart are both opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, with Wal-Mart offering shoppers who are lined up inside the story between 10 and 11 p.m. guarantees on prices for three items. In addition, Target stores will open at 9 p.m., and several other retailers, including Best Buy, Kohl's and Macy's, will open at midnight and stay open through the night.
The following University of North Texas faculty members are available to discuss topics relating to the holiday shopping season.
Terry Clower, director of UNT's Center for Economic Development and Research and an associate professor of applied economics, will discuss the economic impact of holiday shopping on the Texas economy.
Office phone: 940-565-4049
Cell phone: 214-202-4692
Email: tclower@unt.edu
Richard Last, lecturer of merchandising, will discuss online sales and some retailers offering online-only specials in advance of Cyper Monday, the term coined by Shop.org in 2005 to describe the Monday after Thanksgiving after noticing that day is typically one of the busiest online shopping days of the year.
Last notes that smartphones, iPads and other mobile devices will play an increased role in holiday shopping this year, with retailers having both special gift giving apps and mobile marketing campaigns.
Customers will also step up their mobile shopping activities, he says. Some will engage in "showrooming" -- comparing the price on an item they find in a store with the price of the item in online retailers via their mobile devices, Last says.
Last directs the digital retail degree program in UNT's College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism. He is a past member of the board of directors of the National Retail Federation and a past chairman of the board of Shop.org. He is the founder of JCPenney's catalog website, jcp.com; former president of JCP Ecommerce L.P., and former director of digital ventures for J.C. Penney Co. Inc.
Office phone: 940-565-2433
Cell phone: 214-244-1595
Email: rich.last@unt.edu
UNT News Service Phone Number: (940) 565-2108
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