People were shopping at the Camarillo Premium Outlets ahead of the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season. Juan Carlo, VC Star
Another November means another Black Friday, and Ventura County businesses are busy gearing up for the unofficial start to the busiest shopping season of the year.
The 2018 holiday shopping season is shaping up to be an especially busy one, too. Consumers are in a good place due to the nation’s strong economy, which means they are willing to spend more money during the holiday season than they have since the Great Recession, according to Ana Serafin-Smith, senior director of media relations for the National Retail Federation, a trade association that tracks retail sales. That means retailers must be more competitive with their holiday sales and promotions to stand out.
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Although heavy discounts are what defines Black Friday, a growing number of retailers are beginning to use new technology to get customers in the door during the holiday season, Serafin-Smith said. She noted that it is becoming increasingly common for retailers to use technology such as augmented reality and virtual reality to help customers figure out expensive purchases such as furniture.
“Retailers have a higher engagement with virtual reality and augmented reality,” Serafin-Smith said. “Augmented reality can let people try on makeup or clothes, and there are retailers that can use their tech and computers to insert products into a customer’s home, which is useful for big items like furniture and fridges.”
While many local shopping malls and retailers have plans to draw customers for the Black Friday shopping weekend that begins the day after Thanksgiving, some people prefer to do their shopping from the comfort of their home.
Camarillo resident Ashley Cooley, who spent part of Wednesday morning shopping for clothes at the Camarillo Premium Outlets, said she plans to do her Black Friday shopping online to avoid the crowds that will be swarming local retailers.
“I like online shopping because it’s easier,” said Cooley, 26. “You don’t have to get out of your bed and you can hang out with your family, since you’ll still be there for Thanksgiving. You don’t want to miss out on that.”
Of course, many of the gifts purchased during the holiday season — especially those purchased online — need to be delivered. That’s why UPS hires around 100,000 seasonal workers to deal with the influx of packages during the holiday season, according to UPS spokesman Dan McMackin. McMackin noted that UPS ships about 20 million packages daily, which often doubles from about Thanksgiving through late January.
With the national unemployment rate sitting at a low 3.7 percent as of October, some businesses are finding it difficult to recruit enough seasonal workers for the holiday rush. McMackin noted that it has been more difficult to fill temporary positions at UPS than in prior years — the company is still looking to hire 305 seasonal workers in Ventura County — and said it is important for companies to offer benefits or favorable working conditions to woo seasonal workers.
“It is certainly a tough hiring environment, probably a lot tighter than it has ever been in recent memory, McMackin said. But “our seasonal jobs are longer and people can work past Christmas if they want to. There’s a huge opportunity for people who want a foot in the door for a career since we promote predominantly from within.”
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McMackin added that around 35 percent of UPS’ seasonal workers end up permanently working for the company after the holiday season ends. He noted that UPS aims to retain employees by offering perks such as tuition reimbursement, health care benefits and pensions for its permanent part-time workers.
UPS has approximately 450,000 employees, around 128,000 of whom were seasonal employees at one point, according to McMackin.
Some large companies, such as Best Buy, begin hiring their seasonal workers in advance to avoid potential employee shortages around the holiday season, said Best Buy spokeswoman Boua Xiong.
“We have not seen difficulties hiring seasonal employees (and) I think that might be because we go out and hire early,” Xiong said. “We want to make sure we’re prepared for the holiday, and in a lot of markets, we started hiring in the late summer and did another hiring spree in October.”
Like with UPS, Xiong noted that it is not unusual for Best Buy’s seasonal workers to end up working with the company full-time after the holiday season ends.
Regardless, major shopping areas throughout Ventura County are bracing for the Black Friday rush and are anticipating large crowds on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
The Camarillo Premium Outlets will likely be packed the moment doors open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, said Elaine Kelly, the director of marketing and business development. Kelly noted that the shopping center, which will stay open until 10 p.m. on Black Friday, will likely only have a few hours of downtime in the wee hours of the morning.
“It starts to slow down after midnight, around 2 a.m.,” Kelly said. “That gives retailers time to prepare for the crowds that start coming in around 5 a.m. Friday.”
Many of Ventura County’s shopping centers will offer some sort of incentive or entertainment to attract potential customers. For example, the Camarillo Premium Outlets will have valet parking, while Ventura’s Pacific View mall will have a DJ and karaoke from 6-10 p.m. on Black Friday.
Individual retailers are also creating incentives to draw customers, including those who typically only shop online during the holidays, Serafin-Smith said.
“Best Buy offered certain prices for TVs online, but you had to pick up the product in store to get that deal,” Serafin-Smith said. “We’ll see a lot more of those promotions from retailers to get customers to come into the store. If you’re just going into a store for a TV, you will likely walk out with one or two more things than what you originally intended.”
No matter the deals and other incentives, it’s important to approach Black Friday with a relaxed and positive mindset, according to Ventura resident and Camarillo Premium Outlets shopper Traci Schiller. Schiller, 59, said she prefers to shop in person and said aside from the deals, much of Black Friday’s fun is simply sitting back and watching the festivities unfold.
“I like to shop in person because I know (clothes) will fit,” Schiller said. “It’s also a fun time to people-watch. I love to sit down and have coffee and people-watch.”
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