I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and a very profitable “Black Friday Weekend.”  A few weeks ago we discussed the economy and what it can mean to comic and games retailers as well as a few potential scenarios on what’s coming next (see “Sharpening the Sword, So What Happens Next”).  This week we’re going to look at a few of the big box retailers, look at what happened on Black Friday, and get an idea of potential strategies for our own stores.

But before I get to that I have to tell you about this sandwich I bought.  I was home last weekend and instead of just eating some leftovers I drove to the next town just to buy a $10 sandwich.  Now, it’s a phenomenal sandwich, but still something I just don’t normally do.  So why did I do it?  Because after getting a few quotes I had decided to tile my bathroom myself instead of hiring someone and saved myself a few thousand dollars.  I’m pretty good at tiling, but after working on the house for a few years I’m tired. But in these times I felt that I should just do it myself and save the money.  Hence, I rewarded myself with a sandwich.

Why do I bring this up?  Because I think that this type of thinking is going to be very important for our stores.  When you’ve decided to put off that dormer or new car you don’t feel bad about splurging a few dollars on that 40K Dreadnought or a few booster packs of  WoW.  When people are cutting back in any way, whether they be on a food diet or a financial diet, they always want to give themselves those little rewards, those little indulgences.  And for our customers that means a trip to our shops.

But what about the big retailers?  How are they handling the holiday shopping season?  Well, it seems that every single one of them is trying to get rid of their huge inventory of flat screen TV’s and a few other high ticket items that they probably ordered at the beginning of the year.  Our local sales flyers are full of such items, as well as the obligatory blenders and toasters.  We’re also seeing some “core” toys priced very aggressively, including such games as Monopoly, Candyland, and such.  But what’s noteworthy is that the really desirable items, like iPods and Nintendo DS’s aren’t being discounted anywhere!  In fact, this year rather than discounting all their toys, Walmart has instead discounted a few toys such as Barbie and Hot Wheels extremely aggressively.  At a time when most inventories will be low, why give away the good stuff?

Estimates on sales for this holiday season range from being up 1% to down 4.5%, a range our shops can definitely live with since we don’t have to make our inventory decisions nine months in advance.  A bigger issue is that far few consumers will be putting their holiday shopping on credit this year, which means they will be weighing their purchases carefully.

As a result the big box retailers are changing their strategies.  Kohl’s and JC Penny are shifting their advertising toward children’s clothing in an attempt to get as much discretionary spending as possible.  JC Penny spokesman Quinton Crenshaw says, “We believe that practical gifts will be very important for parents shopping for their children.”

Another phenomenon this year is an appeal to nostalgia and faith.  Macy’s is heavily promoting their “Believe” campaign which targets both, the nostalgia of the “Yes, Virginia…” days combined with faith that good things are indeed around us and heading our way.  I think this is a very powerful phenomenon this year as shoppers seem ready to shop and generally get in the holiday spirit much earlier.  After all the bad news we’ve had this year, I count myself among those who are ready to focus instead on something that makes us feel good, a sense of wonder, a sense of hope.

So what is Jim Sinegal, CEO of Costco saying his strategy is? “I try to approach the visits from the standpoint of a customer.  Does the building have the right goods out? Is it well stocked, and clean and safe?... Customers shop with us for value. They don’t shop with us for cheap prices on cheap merchandise. They expect us to deliver value on quality.”  That’s right, essentially the CEO of one of the biggest retailers around is focusing on the basics.

With this in mind what are we doing this year?  First off we’re going to be going even more overboard on decorating, doing everything we can to establish a very festive environment.  Generally speaking we always want to have an atmosphere that customers can come in and be excited about, but we’ll be doing everything we can to ensure that customers can come in and be surrounded by an upbeat holiday spirit.   At a time when every retailer in the country seems to be pleading for consumers’ dollars, it’s good to show that you are not in fact desperate, but rather enjoying the magic of the season with them.

Second we’re making very sure that our inventory levels are appropriate, especially on key items.  In these times we’re expecting that many stores won’t have the resources to keep inventory levels where they should on a few items that are sure to be out of stock at distributors well before the holidays hit.  Customers can always sit at home and buy online, which means that when they do come in to us they had better not be disappointed.  We’ve taken aggressive inventory positions where we felt it was needed and will be doing very frequent re-orders everywhere else.  And of course, we’ll be paying extra special attention to those “civilian” customers buying gifts for the hobbyists on their lists.  We want them to feel welcome and realize the value that our knowledge and recommendations provide.

And lastly we’ll be doing something for others.  We’ll be holding our annual charity raffle this week.  At a time when every retailer on the planet is concerned about their own financial health, we think it is very important to show our customers that they are part of something larger, a community that cares for those less fortunate.  This time of year we can all seem a bit selfish.  And helping those less fortunate is not only the right thing to do, but helps our customers see us as something other than an entity that just wants their money.

These may seem like trivial things, but considering the noise level of the major retailers this year, those trivial things may be extremely effective.  I saw a number of smaller retailers hold Black Friday sales this weekend, but wondered what level of success they could have when they were competing against such giants as Walmart where the crowd here was so large that someone was actually crushed to death.  The big retailers will be extremely aggressive in advertising, promotions, and sales this year.  This is our chance to show the world that there is something genuine about our “mom and pop” shops.  And hopefully we’ll all profit in the process.

Good luck this holiday season!

The opinions expressed in this Talk Back column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.