Lowe's 90 percent off sale drawing Facebook crowds

Any 90 percent-off sale is bound to draw a crowd. Advertise that kind of discount on Facebook, and if you've got anything remotely worth buying, you've likely got a viral hit on your hands. That's just what's happening with the Facebook promotion the folks up at Lowe's Home Improvement's Mooresville headquarters have cooked up. Lowe's pegged the promotion to the run-up to Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving, traditional start of the Christmas shopping frenzy. Over the weekend, the company has been giving its Facebook fans a chance at 90 percent off coupons for everything from coffee makers to water heaters. Not surprisingly, people have been gobbling the deals up.

Some stats, courtesy of the folks at Lowe's:

• Lowe's nearly doubled its fan base in two weeks, from 134,000 to 263,000.
• Fans clicked on Lowe's Facebook posts more than 81 million times from midnight Saturday through midnight Sunday.

• The All Facebook blog is listing the Lowe's fan page as the third "most explosive" on Facebook this week, trailing only People magazine and the Disney movie "Tangled."

And of course, it wouldn't be a Black Friday sale without some pushing and shoving among the frenzied buyers. Some people got steamed when they didn't get the 90 percent coupons before the deals closed, and suggested others were cheating by using computer programs to snag the coupons first.

One benefit of keeping the whole sale in the virtual world: at least nobody could knock a competitor down or throw a punch. Now that's progress.

Lowe's offering 90 percent off deals on Facebook

Lowe's Home Improvement's come up with a novel way to get an early jump on the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday shopping craze. The chain's launching a Facebook promotion with some seriously steep discounts. Lowe's officials are calling it their "Black Friday Sneak Peek Party," and it starts on Nov. 5. That's when they'll list some of their Black Friday deals on their Facebook fan page. The deals will be valid online beginning on Thanksgiving and in stories on Black Friday.

But as an extra attraction for fans who come to check things out early, Lowe's is putting up videos that will include coupon codes for 90 percent off "a few select items," according to spokeswoman Colleen Carbott. One of the videos was done by NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson. Those who find the codes can redeem them online immediately. Tried to get my man Jeff Elder, former Observerite turned Lowe's social media guru, to tell me what some of the hot items are, but he's been sworn to corporate secrecy.

I sure could use a new barbecue grill...