黑色星期五 大减价真能拣便宜？

Every Black Friday, retailers lure shoppers in the cold, predawn hours to wait in long lines with the promise of one-day-only deals that can't be beat. And every year, a good number of those shoppers ask themselves, 'Is this really worth it?'

每个黑色星期五，零售商们都会诱惑购物者天不亮就冒着寒风在商店门前排起长队，他们向消费者承诺说，店里的商品只有在这一天会比平时卖得都便宜。年复一年，许多购物者都会扪心自问：真值得起个大早去商店门前排队吗？

The answer, it turns out, is often no.

而答案是，事实证明很多情况下并不值得这样做。

An analysis of this year's most-touted Black Friday deals by The Wall Street Journal and price-data firm Decide Inc. found that many of the bargains advertised as 'doorbusters' were available at lower prices at other times of the year─sometimes even at the same retailer.

《华尔街日报》和价格数据公司Decide Inc.对今年最广而告之的黑色星期五优惠促销活动进行分析后发现，那些在广告宣传中被吹嘘为专给黑色星期五这天“开门大抢购准备的大减价商品，许多在年内的其他时间都能以更便宜的价格买到，有时甚至在打出大减价广告的这家商店就能买到。

Decide has gathered years' worth of online price data and uses it to tell subscribers when they should pull the trigger on purchases. It looked at more than 500 doorbusters advertised in Black Friday circulars by big-box and department stores such as Sears Holdings Corp., Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. Inc. and found nearly one-third of the products had been sold at lower prices this year, Decide Chief Executive Mike Fridgen said.

Decide收集了多年来的网上价格数据，并运用这些数据来告诉其订户他们何时应出手采购。Decide的首席执行长弗雷德根(Mike Fridgen)说，该公司研究了仓储式商店和Sears Holdings Corp.、Target Corp.及百思买(Best Buy Co. Inc.)等百货店在黑色星期五宣传小册子中推介的500多种“开门大抢购商品，发现其中近三分之一的产品今年内曾以更低的价格出售过。

Sears, for example, is advertising a KitchenAid Artisan Series Stand Mixer for $319.99 this Black Friday. Decide data found the retailer offered the same mixer for $296 in March.

举例来说，Sears在广告中宣传说一台KitchenAid Artisan系列桌上型搅拌机在今年黑色星期五的售价为319.99美元。而Decide却发现，同一款搅拌机今年三月在这家零售店曾卖296美元。

'We believe our advertised prices are competitive and we are well positioned to give our customers great value,' a Sears spokesman said in an email. 'Like any retailer, our pricing varies throughout the year.'

Sears的一名发言人在电子邮件中说：我们相信自己在广告中促销的那些商品是有价格竞争力的，我们已充分准备好让我们的顾客享受到可观的价格实惠；与许多零售商一样，我们的商品定价在年内不同的时间也是会变化的。

Home Depot Inc. is advertising a General Electric Co. Adora dishwasher for $598 on Black Friday, touting a savings of $151. But as recently as last month, the home-improvement retailer was selling that same dishwasher for $538, Decide found.

家得宝公司(Home Depot Inc.)在广告中说，黑色星期五那天一台通用电气公司(General Electric Co.)产Adora牌洗碗机在它这里只卖598美元，比平时便宜151美元。但Decide发现，就在上个月，该款洗碗机在这个家庭装修产品零售商的店铺里还曾只卖538美元。

A Home Depot spokeswoman said the earlier discount on the dishwasher was a Columbus Day special, but the majority of its Black Friday deals are its best of the year.

家得宝的一名发言人说，这款洗碗机前段时间因为是被定为了哥伦布日(Columbus Day)的特卖产品，所以才会卖得便宜，该公司为黑色星期五推介的大多数产品在这天的定价都是全年最低的。

Decide's Web-scraping technology doesn't always capture all the features of certain deals. For example, it found that the 32 gigabyte, fifth-generation Apple Inc. iPod Touch Best Buy is advertising for $294.99 on Black Friday was priced $10 cheaper last week.

不过Decide的网络搜索技术并不总能将某款特价商品的全部优惠条款都搜索到。比如说，它发现百思买在广告中称，一款32G的苹果公司(Apple Inc.)第五代iPod Touch黑色星期五当天在其零售店里只卖294.99美元，而事实上这款产品上周在百思买零售店里的售价比这还要便宜10美元。

A Best Buy spokeswoman, however, noted the chain is giving away a $50 gift card that buyers of the iPod can use toward their next purchase at the electronics retailer.

但百思买的一位发言人指出，黑色星期五那天百思买会向购买这款iPod的顾客赠送一张面值50美元的礼品券，顾客们可以下次来百思买购物时使用。

Black Friday has long been a game of convincing shoppers that prices are so good they can't afford to miss out. Retailers have adopted a number of tactics over the years, from deeply discounted a limited supply of loss leaders to lining up cheaper gear that can be sold at low prices without killing margins.

黑色星期五长期以来一直被商家当做一种促销噱头，其目的是让购物者确信商家在某个时间推出的某件产品是便宜得不能再便宜了，千万不能错过。多年来零售商们采取了许多营销手段，从赔本出售一些限量供应的商品以吸引顾客，到专门为黑色星期五准备一批即使低价出售也不会损害商家利润率的较廉价产品，不一而足。

Retailers don't generally make specific promises of lowest-ever prices, and Decide found many of the bargains appeared to be genuine. The data company said the majority of the doorbuster deals it checked hadn't been available at lower prices during the year.

零售商们一般不会具体承诺自己在黑色星期五所售商品的价格比以往任何时候都低，而Decide发现，商家这一天所售许多商品的价格确实是年内最低的。该公司说，它检查商家为“开门大抢购准备的大减价商品后发现，其中大多数产品的价格确实处于年内最低水平。

Still, the transparency and easy aggregation afforded by online pricing is making it simpler than ever to test retailers' claims. Decide, for example, found retailers often pick popular brands or lower-quality items for deep discounts on Black Friday.

不过，鉴于商家在网上发布价格的做法使人可以清楚地了解价格信息并能很容易地将各种价格汇聚在一起进行分析比较，现在要想验证零售商们所宣传的低价格是否属实比以往任何时候都容易了。比如Decide就发现，零售商们经常将知名品牌产品或质量较低的产品拿出来在黑色星期五那天大幅打折出售。

'Technology has made it possible for consumers to be aware of what's a deal and what's truly a marketing ploy,' Mr. Fridgen said.

弗雷德根说，科技已经使得消费者可以知道在黑色星期五那天哪些产品是真的在以年内最低价格出售，哪些产品的降价实际上不过是一种营销策略。

A Wall Street Journal analysis this fall found Black Friday isn't necessarily the best time to buy some popular holiday gifts. Popular items such as watches and jewelry typically sell for their lowest prices in October. Other items like flat screen televisions are best bought at the beginning of the New Year.

《华尔街日报》今年秋天进行的一项分析发现，黑色星期五未必是购买某些常用节日礼品的最佳时机。手表和珠宝等常用礼品通常10月份卖得最便宜，而平板电视等其他产品在新的一年开始时买最合算。

Rob Docters, a senior member of McKinsey & Co.'s pricing practice, said retailers are likely counting on consumers to assume their advertised sales are the best of the year.

麦肯锡公司(McKinsey & Co.)定价业务的资深人员道克特斯(Rob Docters)说，零售商们大概正指望消费者想当然地认为商家打广告推介的产品都将在黑色星期五那天以年内最低价卖出。

'People associate Black Friday with good prices, and that eliminates the need to check price,' he said.

他说，人们往往会将黑色星期五与合算的价格联系起来，这样他们常常就不会去核对商家的价格宣传是否属实了。