Article: Black Friday Is Dying, And That's A Good Thing

[NinaBella]

If you saw this yesterday, then it didn't happen on Black Friday, so what do you propose doing shutting down stores every day? People are more rude and violent nowadays period just look at all the road rage incidents. We have more gadgets and conveniences which are supposed to make our lives easier and less stressful, yet we seem to more unhappy than ever. So not sure it has much to do with Black Friday at all more like a breakdown of our society in general.

I never implied that the video took place on Black Friday. For some odd reason, I get the impression you are taking my statement and trying to twist it. Yes people are violent everyday. (Period, you saw that right?) My point is on Black Friday there are more and more issues with people become even more nastier than on a daily basis. The savings is not worth the additional violence that is happening on Black Friday for small savings. In addition, I suggested there are other ways stores can still make a profit from the door busters throughout the holiday season without a Black Friday.

Happy Shopping!

Have a nice, happy life.

 

[cijay]

Black Friday crept up into Canada a few years ago. Our family doesn't exchange gifts so there's no hurry to get out there and do Christmas shopping- but Friday is my day off and that's when I do all my shopping anyway. Luckily, I'm volunteering at the Festival of Trees and then going to a big craft sale during the day while a lot of people are still working - plus out downtown is fairly quiet due to the malls and box marts elsewhere.

We have Boxing Day (well Boxing WEEK) and it's fun to go alone because you can 'slalem' your way through people, you're not wasting time looking for someone else and the minute the crowds get to you, you just leave. I rarely buy anything (I'm not an impulse shopper) but it's fun to do alone. The thing I have noticed for the past few years is that a lot of things aren't reduced, a lot of them are "buy one get one" or worse, buy two get the third. I went for a reduced pair of running shoes - not for three pairs.

 

[GAN]

My wife and I have been heading out at 5AM for years, but for us it's a more casual experience -we grab a coffee and stroll. Mostly window shopping and if we something that catches our eye we will buy it ...but no agenda. We usually leave before noon when it starts getting crazy.

It's the only day of the year that I do go shopping -I like the feeling of knowing I don't need to buy or do anything like the mad-folk around me. Kind of like when I'm at Disney actually....

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I have always loved the Friday after Thanksgiving. I never fight for a parking spot. It's easy to just take one further away and walk. And truth be told using that strategy, I'm parked, walked to the doors and in long before the parking spot snipers even get a spot on average. Back in the day when doorbusters were used to get people in the store earlier to relieve over crowding later, it was great. I used to like getting up at 6... then 5....then 4.... There were fewer people there. But somewhere along the line once people got used to them, door buster time was the over crowded time. Funny thing is, I changed my shopping from door buster time to going out to dinner around 5pm Friday and going shopping afterwards. HAHA the places were totally dead. Nobody in them. Once it went to midnight madness and then to earlier on Thanksgiving, it's just been a mob. Even more so than the 5 am starts. Now Ironically, 4 am-6am is rather quiet and after dinner Friday is even more dead.

 

[RitaE]

I used to like the entire holiday season but the shopping thing has gotten so out of hand that I sometimes wonder why we even participate. I just opened up my email, which I had already emptied once today before breakfast, and I have 17 emails from various stores informing me of things like LAST CHANCE TO SAVE! ONLY HOURS LEFT! BLACK FRIDAY PRICES NOW! TODAY ONLY, BEAT THE RUSH!

And this is my email account that I strive to keep spam free, although obviously I fail. I don't even want to think about what's lurking in that Yahoo account that I give out to marketers and use for online sign-ups.

The entire frenzy of it all just turns me off. I refuse to spend the next couple of weeks immersed in some hyperbole situation of angst that I might be missing THE BEST DEAL EVER! on stuff that we didn't even know we wanted. It makes me feel anxious, stressed out and grumpy. And it's still only November. By the third week of December it will be even worse.

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

I don't want to participate either. I get grumpy that Thanksgiving is totally blending into Christmas anymore. It's almost like why even bother? I can't even shop for the turkey day meal without Christmas music, poinsettias, trees, Christmas candy, cakes, Christmas captain crunch, presents, gift wrap, tinsel and toys! It's like enough already. Either move it back a few weeks or give tday the axe. The message is getting lost. Gratitude, grace, giving and sharing has morphed into door busters, greed, debt and waste.

 

[Dakota731]

I saw an interesting piece on PBS Dakota that kind of explains that. We've got more gadgets and conveniences but they are all designed for "solo" users. So we as a society are now fostering an attitude of "MY needs" are paramount, cell phones have made us able to have private conversations now at all times, so the person in front of you trying to ring you up is no longer "human", our brain ignores them and if they interrupt us to perhaps finish up the transaction we're bothered. "how dare they interrupt our very important conversation". lol

I agree that sometimes we don't practice enough of our "getting along well with others" skills because we are on our phones, tablets etc. And even sadder is the fact that often we read that the school shooters are many times loners who spend hours of their day holed up alone with violent video games not relating with friends or parents.
So for me though I hate the Black Friday traffic and parking, I often strike up conversations in line with other shoppers whom I never would on an ordinary day. The camaraderie of scoping out good deals and telling where bargains to be had is fun in my mind. Of course there are always stories on the news about violent incidents, however a previous poster spoke of a hair pulling attack on a day that wasn't even Black Friday, so if you are filled with rage and hate, it doesn't take a holiday shopping day to set you off.

 

[tlmadden73]

It's not special anymore. Stores have "Black Friday" sales all month ... Amazon has deals all the time. And now stores are open on Thursday.

And besides, I am not one to buy into the "deal" on a limited and very specific item.

You also fall into the trap of getting something because it is on sale .. ($50 tablets!) .. not because you wanted or needed it.

I can enjoy going out in the hustle and bustle on that day but just to window shop.

 

[cijay]

I used to like the entire holiday season but the shopping thing has gotten so out of hand that I sometimes wonder why we even participate. I just opened up my email, which I had already emptied once today before breakfast, and I have 17 emails from various stores informing me of things like LAST CHANCE TO SAVE! ONLY HOURS LEFT! BLACK FRIDAY PRICES NOW! TODAY ONLY, BEAT THE RUSH!

And this is my email account that I strive to keep spam free, although obviously I fail. I don't even want to think about what's lurking in that Yahoo account that I give out to marketers and use for online sign-ups.

The entire frenzy of it all just turns me off. I refuse to spend the next couple of weeks immersed in some hyperbole situation of angst that I might be missing THE BEST DEAL EVER! on stuff that we didn't even know we wanted. It makes me feel anxious, stressed out and grumpy. And it's still only November. By the third week of December it will be even worse.

I'm surprised at how few people do that with the (as I call it) 'contingent' accounts. I give it to marketers, when I enter contests and for the first little while after I meet someone. I want to see if they're the ones to pass on a thousand a day, ones who would sooner email than face to face visit or ones who hand my name out to everyone else.

My best suggestion for stressful shopping for Christmas is to not do it. Gift cards, gifts through out the year or just let people know you've jumped off that bandwagon so you can enjoy the season.

 

[shh]

Not to mention that a lot of the BF doorbuster-type electronics deals are the loss-leader models to avoid: many times that I check the reviews for a BF advertised item and there's a long list of disgruntled owners reporting product failures. So you fight the masses to buy it...then deal with annoying breakdowns and wasted money.

 

[LSchrow]

Loath Black Friday. It reminds me of The Purge.

great analogy

 

[Mividadisney]

Black Friday has really changed thanks to technology. I'm really surprised people camp out and fight the lines to get a deal when most major stores do price match. Last year when we shopped it was dead on the hours we went in and we took our ads in with us to get exact price match and no one gave us any problems in questioning it.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

great analogy

Yup, nailed it. Although I have lined up for those crazy designer collaborations at H&M, so I can't really judge. Everyone has their thing.

 

[7series]

I have always found it ironic, and frankly, disgusting, that the day after we are supposed to be thankful for all we have is the day that people will go out and fight and trample each other to death over materialism.

 

[nugov2]

I use to go out in the morning early with my friends. We always had fun, but now it has changed. We never had an experience with rude people in the years we did it. I still go out, but it isn't the same. I never hit the big stores because you can always get the deals before or after and it isn't worth the chaos. I agree with the pp that the electronics are always crap models or what you could get at costco any time of year. I actually just bought a sound bar and surround system for cheaper than any of the bf deals and it is a nice brand.

I end up getting mostly clothes and stuff for the house. That is the stuff I find is a good deal.

None of my 3 kids have ever wanted a toy that was htf. They get one gift from santa (the big gift comes from him) and then they get a board game, clothes, books a smaller want and my Dh always goes out and buys a special gift just from him.

 

[nugov2]

I have always found it ironic, and frankly, disgusting, that the day after we are supposed to be thankful for all we have is the day that people will go out and fight and trample each other to death over materialism.

I think it is more media hype than reality. I have never seen a case of it in all my years shopping, actually the opposite. Everyone in line was cheerful and friendly. I've never seen a local account it is always from somewhere else. I'd guess it is 2% of shoppers and be willing to bet people have these run ins everyday shopping, but the media doesn't hype it because it's not bf. Greedy rude Americans who love things more than family sells, when that isn't close to reality. I shop thanksgiving night, but only after spending tons of quality time with my family. No rushed dinner no rush to scarf down my turkey to abandon them for things instead. I'd imagine again that is a very small percentage of the shoppers.

I find nowadays people like to attach a stigma to something and keep running with it until it takes on a life of its own.

Complaints of consumerism overtaking Christmas have been around since before I was born, had my own kids and began shopping. I remember my mom going out when I was a kid. It is just now this has become the new armchair cause. Support buisness who close on bf posts all over Facebook, yet I bet most of those people would hit a cvs for anything minor they realized they don't have or fill up there car at a gas station, yet somehow that is justifiable.

 

[LSchrow]

Greedy rude Americans who love things more than family sells, when that isn't close to reality. I shop thanksgiving night, but only after spending tons of quality time with my family. No rushed dinner no rush to scarf down my turkey to abandon them for things instead. .

and what of the salespeople who didn't get to "spend quality time" with their families?
IMHO, Thanksgiving should be a day of actually giving thanks, & people showing those thanks by helping those less fortunate (volunteering at a soup kitchen, spending time at a senior ctr, etc - as a family).....rather than buying more & more & more & more "stuff".

now that would be something to be thankful for

 

[nugov2]

and what of the salespeople who didn't get to "spend quality time" with their families?
IMHO, Thanksgiving should be a day of actually giving thanks, & people showing those thanks by helping those less fortunate (volunteering at a soup kitchen, spending time at a senior ctr, etc - as a family).....rather than buying more & more & more & more "stuff".

now that would be something to be thankful for

I actually would have zero issue with all places closing that are not necessary, until that happens I don't view retail employees any differently than WDW CM's, gas station cletks, movie theater employees etc.. all of those are for enjoyment purposes and open and never until the stores started opening so people could shop that people took notice. It is no less selfish to go to MK than run to target on Thanksgiving. I'd be fine if everything closed and I'm sure so would everyone else, but that hasn't been the way it is since I was a kid. Stores used to be closed on Sunday and I don't think that is a bad idea and would be fine if it went back to that, but I still go to the store on Sundays all the time. Times change doesn't mean people are evil and greedy and taking away from family time. Very few work from 10 am to 10 pm in retail so you either have the opportunity to have a lunch or late dinner. You know this when you take a job in retail and have to adjust accordingly just like police officers, gas station employees and cm's. Spinning it like the people shopping are greedy...more, more, more monsters is painting with a very broad stroke.

 

[Dakota731]

and what of the salespeople who didn't get to "spend quality time" with their families?

My friend works retail and says they never have trouble getting people to work. It's extra money and it's a party atmosphere. When I was a teenager I worked retail as well and would have rather been working Thanksgiving with my friends than having dinner at my grandma's lol.

and what of the salespeople who didn't get to "spend quality time" with their families?

I never hear people complain about movie theater employeees having to work when thousands of people take their kids to movies on Christmas Eve or Thanksgiving. Of course everyone says "oh not me" then why are those days the biggest box office days of the year??

I don't want to participate either.

That's the great thing about our country - you don't have to if you don't want to, and I can if I desire! As far as Black Friday dying, today on Good Morning America, they said it's a $5 billion dollar day and increased 24% in sales last year. So that doesn't sound too dead to me!

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

I actually would have zero issue with all places closing that are not necessary, until that happens I don't view retail employees any differently than WDW CM's, gas station cletks, movie theater employees etc.. all of those are for enjoyment purposes and open and never until the stores started opening so people could shop that people took notice. It is no less selfish to go to MK than run to target on Thanksgiving. I'd be fine if everything closed and I'm sure so would everyone else, but that hasn't been the way it is since I was a kid. Stores used to be closed on Sunday and I don't think that is a bad idea and would be fine if it went back to that, but I still go to the store on Sundays all the time. Times change doesn't mean people are evil and greedy and taking away from family time. Very few work from 10 am to 10 pm in retail so you either have the opportunity to have a lunch or late dinner. You know this when you take a job in retail and have to adjust accordingly just like police officers, gas station employees and cm's. Spinning it like the people shopping are greedy...more, more, more monsters is painting with a very broad stroke.

Couldn't agree more. When I was in the restaurant business I knew I would be working Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day etc. I knew that going in and never blamed the customers because I had to work.