The promotions have begun and retailers are ready. University of Houston experts are available to speak to media about upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The event going global, strategies retailers are utilizing and online versus brick-and-mortar store sales are among the many topics these experts can address. Please contact UH Media Relations for assistance in lining up an interview with an expert.
Steve Brown, professor of marketing, C.T. Bauer College of Business
- Why retailers offer the same deals year after year.
“Because they’re successful, and because the retailers have high margin add-ons to sell along with the deeply discounted items. Increasingly, retailers use insights from big data analytics to plan promotion schedules, so they have a good idea of what promotions are likely to outperform others.”
Larry Kelley, clinical professor of advertising, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication
- Black Friday is becoming a global brand and worldwide sales event.
“Amazon has introduced the idea of Black Friday to the UK and is thinking of expanding it to China. On the other hand, Alibaba is thinking of doing the same thing with Singles Day, their China sales event that dwarfs Black Friday.”
Barbara Stewart, professor human development & consumer sciences, College of Technology
- Black Friday will continue to be important for consumers and retailers.
“Sales volumes will be strong, but will be influenced by Black Friday promotions that have already started – lengthening the measurement period.” She can also talk about competition from online sales, as consumers become more comfortable with online purchases.
Betsy Gelb, professor of marketing, C.T. Bauer College of Business
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Multi-channel marketing among retailers will continue to bring in revenue throughout the holiday shopping season.
“Black Friday has merged the expectation of bargains with the fact that everybody likes holidays – and it has become a holiday in its own way, the only one focused solely on shopping,” said Gelb, who specializes in marketing strategy and advertising.