There has been a lot of speculation over just what Black Friday will bring this year for retailers, who are expecting a slower than normal holiday shopping season.

The theory is that retailers will hedge the risk of having excess inventory at the end of the season, and will try to move product as soon as possible (beginning on the unofficial first day of the Christmas shopping season).

On the other side of the coin, the Black Friday deals for Walmart, Best Buy, and Circuit City have already leaked, and no one seems too thrilled. (Engadget says “we’ll sleep in”).

Nielsen Online wrote this article on the traffic trend of online discount/ coupon sites, which have seen more traffic since the economy became front page news in September.

My favorite deal site Woot.com (located in the metroplex in Carrollton) has also seen a spike in traffic since July (source: compete.com).

So what does this mean?

Consumers use the internet not only to make online purchases, but also to find information about purchases they plan to make offline. While this has been true for some time for big ticket purchases like automobiles and technology, it’s becoming more universal.

For some of our clients that means that online offers become a traffic source… for others it means that focus has shifted to encouraging and collecting product reviews… and for still others it means offering a place for customer feedback is imperative. It all depends on your business, your goals, and what your audience is doing online already.

And for the big retailers… I’m looking for a 40″-50″ 1080p DLP TV for my new apartment. So it would be great if you could at least put those on sale on the 28th. Thanks!