In a report for the Internet Retailer by Allison Enright, Amazon announced its Black Friday Deals store (amazon.com/blackfriday) where customers can find deals such as a 15% discount on an LG TV, two-for-one video game deals and other discounts. Amazon also announced a Black Friday Deals Week which will begin on Thanksgiving week. The leading e-retailer (according to Internet Retailer’s Top 500 guide) will offer more discounts on that week. This early start has attracted the interest of early bird buyers and those who are starting to plan their Thanksgiving shopping lists. Experian Hitwise, a firm that monitors web traffic, reported that traffic to top e-commerce sites was up 10% year over year for the week ending last October 23. The firm added that 47% of all searches for “Black Friday” included the retailer’s name (“Black Friday, Amazon”). Not surprisingly, Amazon was the number 1 most trafficked e-commerce site during Black Friday last year.
Not to be outdone, Overstock is also making an early play for Black Friday shoppers. The online retail giant announced that customers can get a free 60-day trial membership to Club O which is the company’s rewards program. Membership gives customers free shipping and 5% of the cost of purchases as a credit for future purchases. This means that those who sign up now will get the credits and the free shipping benefit through the Holidays. Those who don’t cancel after 60 days will be charged $19.95 for one year’s worth of membership. Additionally, Overstock is also running a Pre-Black Friday Sale on its site and a Black Friday contest on its Facebook account.