DETROIT: US retailers faced competition for customers from car sellers on Thanksgiving weekend, as auto dealers offered bargains on vehicles as alluring as any discounted TV or stereo system.
The mad dash for midnight "Black Friday" deals at stores like Walmart and Target the day after Thanksgiving has become an annual ritual. Less noticed are the crowds flocking to car dealers.
November has long been a notoriously slow month for car sales. But in recent years car dealers have joined in the Thanksgiving weekend sales extravaganza, making November one of the best months of the year for auto sales in recent years, said Jessica Caldwell, director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com.
"Last year, Thanksgiving weekend accounted for twice as many sales as any other weekend in November. We expect to see both trends continue this year," Caldwell said in a pre-weekend note to investors.
The activity Friday in a cluster of new car dealerships near a busy intersection just outside Detroit confirmed the trend.
"It's going to be one of the busiest days of the year," said Melvin Holmes, a sales consultant at Tamaroff Honda, one of the dealerships.
National advertising by Honda and special promotions by the dealership -- everyone buying a car Friday or Saturday will get a tablet computer, an Xbox or Wii game system, or a 350-dollar gift card -- were helping draw crowds, Holmes said.
At Serra Chevrolet a few doors away, customers were prowling through the used car lot despite the light rain.
"We're already busy," said Chaz Suomala, one of Serra's sales consultants. "It was crazy last year" he said.
"We just thought it would be a good day to come out and start the process," said Lana Crain, who was waiting with her husband to take a test drive at another dealership selling Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles.
Customers often go online to research what car they want to buy, and with what options.
Brian Brewer, a car dealer, said that the day after Thanksgiving had now become a popular time to check out a desired set of wheels at closer quarters.
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