Several media outlets reported today that Wal-Mart is threatening websites that traditionally post listings of the big early-bird sales many major retailers are planning for “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving. But Wal-Mart doesn’t want its ads leaked weeks in advance. So this year, they claim they’ll sue any website that posts Wal-Mart’s sale details before the ad “officially” appears in newspapers. That doesn’t seem quite fair to me.
Wal-Mart needs to focus on HOW the ads get leaked in the first place! Obviously, the info must be coming from an employee of Wal-Mart, their ad agency or the publisher(s) of the circulars. Those are the people Wal-Mart should be going after, and the same goes for any other chain that doesn’t want their ads leaked early.
How many people normally work on creating a circular? Twenty? Thirty? Maybe they need to cut it down to five for the Black Friday ad. It might take longer to assemble, but it’s not impossible. The rest of the team could still be involved by providing design help, pictures of items, etc. But only the “inside five” would be privy to the actual prices for the big sales. If only five people know the deals, it should be much easier to pinpoint your mole if the details get out there.
Of course, you then have to move onto the next phase. After the circular is designed, it’s ready to go to the printer. Do they have all the ads printed at one place, or are they printed in different locations across the country to reduce shipping charges? Either way, with the circular now outside Wal-Mart property, many more people have a chance to get their hands on the ad.
At that point, I think Wal-Mart just has to sit back and realize the internet is a whole new ballgame. People can spread information much faster and easier than the days when you really had to wait for the circular to arrive in the newspaper. Of course, a look at Wal-Mart’s website, compared to some of it’s competitors, is proof enough that they’re a little behind the times with the internet.
Besides, as just about every single “Black Friday” website has mentioned… it’s free publicity for Wal-Mart. Who cares if people know what your big sale items are going to be 2-3 weeks earlier? Serious shoppers are going to analyze those ads and form detailed shopping plans regardless of whether they have the ad 2 weeks or 2 days ahead of time.
Of course, regardless of what’s in the ads, my Black Friday strategy will likely be sleeping until noon. Black Friday’s not a holiday at my job… if I have to be at work until midnight, there’s no way I’m going to be up at 5 and 6am. Hell, even if I didn’t have to work, I’d probably only be out for one or two things… nowhere near enough to deal with crowds of pushy shoppers and stand in line forever just to save a few bucks. Sleep is much more valuable.
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