Black Friday Deals The Same Every Year

(RTTNews) - Black Friday deals offered by retailers in their circulars are the same every year, the Wall Street Journal noted, analyzing the old circulars.

As per the report, circulars from retailers like Target, Best Buy and Wal-Mart repeat products, prices from holidays past.

Target Corp.'s 2015 Black Friday circular's front page was almost identical to the front page of its 2014 circular. Both displayed Beats headphones, a Nikon digital camera, and DVDs with same prices, except an Xbox gaming console that changed price.

WSJ noted, citing Brad's Deals, a website that tracks retail discounts, that Target's each Black Friday circular since 2008 has featured a Razor scooter, with the price fluctuating between $17 and $22.

Wal-Mart Stores' Black Friday newspaper inserts for the past two years have included a $49 Toshiba hard drive, a $19 Pyrex Bake-n-Store set and a $49.97 Brother sewing machine.

The report also noted that the circulars of Best Buy Co., Kohl's Corp., J.C. Penney Co. and Macy's Inc. also have featured many items and prices without much change.

For three years running, the front page of Macy's Black Friday circular has featured Rampage boots for $19.99.

The past two circulars of Best Buy have showcased a $779.99 11.6-inch MacBook Air, $224.99 Klipsch Reference dual 8-inch speakers and a $74.99 Amazon Fire TV.

Meanwhile, the retailers reportedly noted that they are simply catering to customer tastes, and that some products and categories such as toys and small appliances tend to be popular year over year. In order to mitigate risks in the crucial shopping time, they showcase the products that were successful in the previous year.

For years, Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, remained one of the busiest shopping days of the year, even though it is losing its preference these days with more and more online shopping.

WSJ noted that the trend is likely to continue as the retailers are under pressure to contain costs.