The idea of after-thanksgiving shopping in the wee hours of the morning is not my cup of tea, but after I heard about it enough times on TV, radio and from family and friends, my curiosity got the better of me this last week and I found myself getting up at 4a trying to reason with myself and my less than ecstatic wife why I would put myself through the very experience that I have often ridiculed others for. So I wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel, my wife decided that if I were crazy enough to go, that she may as well play the part of Mrs. Crazy and keep me company.
So we embarked upon this twilight adventure in the direction of my favorite type of retailers - the kind that sell electronic gizmos. In my quest to see for myself, the plight of the bargain shopper, I pulled up into a Best Buy parking lot and couldn't believe what I saw. The parking lot, which is a huge one considering that the lot accomodates Target, The Great Indoors, Lowes, Linens-n-Things and Marshalls among fast food and chain restaurants, was packed to the point that I had to park by the Great Indoors. 'While there were a handful of shoppers waiting to get into Target (TGT) at 6a and no one outside the other stores, Best Buy (BBY) easily had over a thousand people waiting impatiently to make a mad dash for those 5 hour limited inventory opportunities. The line of these die hard Best Buy fans ran all the way around the building and into the back.
Somehow I made my way inside the store once they opened their doors and was amazed to see how frantic shoppers were running around clutching their newly acquired toys, looking for more great deals. The checkout lines were so long that a lady holding two balloons would yell every 30 seconds "checkout begins where the baloons are!", as she moved further and further along the four walls of best buy to make room for the mob.
Hitwise data released last week showed Best Buy's site as being the #2 most visited retail website on Thanksgiving as would be Black Friday shoppers looked up the specials that would become their obsession.
One does not have to be a chartist or a fundamental stock picker to realize the success of Best Buy's marketing campaign. I believe the Thanksgiving holiday sale will have proven to be a resounding success and will be reflected in their earnings. I would buy this stock as consumers stock up on their iPods, MacBooks, plasma TVs and video game consoles.
-- Faisal Laljee
Full Disclosure: I do not own any shares of Best Buy, but my position might change at any time without notice.