The BYU Store is getting ready for the holiday season by marking its entire merchandise 20 percent off during an afternoon Black Friday sale.
BYU Store director Mark Clegg said this is the first year the store is actively promoting what they call a “Sleep-in and Save Deal.” The sale will begin Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. and continue until 6 p.m.
“From a marketing perspective, we’re adjusting to the fact that we know we’re not a Black Friday destination,” Clegg said. “The point is to go take care of your other stuff, get that killer deal you can’t miss elsewhere and then at 1 o’clock, come to the BYU Store to get a good deal.”
A few targeted items will be marked even lower than the storewide deal of 20 percent off. One featured doorbuster will be a 17-foot Little Giant Ladder, retailed at $180 but available for $99. Other special deals include a substantial number of international Nativity sets, which will be up to 40 percent off, and some clothing items.
Steve Lawyer is the e-commerce manager for the BYU Store and said he has been busy researching hundreds of potential products to promote.
“All together we’ll be discounting and promoting about 250 separate sweet deals,” Lawyer said in an email.
As far as e-commerce goes, Lawyer said the store expects to receive between 4,000 and 5,000 online orders during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions.
Black Friday is a major sale day for many stores across the nation, but the BYU Store’s biggest sales occurred on True Blue Thursday, which took place on Nov. 10 before campus closed for holiday break.
“We recognize that when the holidays come around, people are not at campus so that’s not our time to sell,” Clegg said. “We need to plan these bigger sale periods while the faculty and staff are still on campus.”
The BYU Store does moderate business on Black Friday, but it’s nothing compared to major retailers like Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart. Clegg said that’s because the BYU Store depends on faculty, students, alumni and visitors on a day-to-day basis. The dependency shifts toward visitors when Thanksgiving comes around and students and faculty leave campus.
“It’s not a huge day for us,” Clegg said. “We will do about half of our daily average on Black Friday compared to normal days.”
But the home football game against Utah State on Nov. 26 is projected to increase Black Friday sales. Clegg said he anticipates fans will come to the store for deals on BYU gear and apparel.
Clegg said holiday sales don’t start ramping up until the Monday after Thanksgiving when students return to school and start thinking about Christmas gifts.
“The most important thing we can accomplish for either Black Friday or Cyber Monday is to get people into the holiday mindset,” Clegg said. “To really start thinking about, ‘What are those gifts the BYU Store is uniquely positioned to provide that I can’t get anywhere else?'”
Visit the BYU Store located in the Wilkinson Student Center or the BYU Store website to learn more about upcoming events and promotions.
