By Brandon Brown
News Editor
It’s that time of year again. You’ve thought about it, seen the store shelves and heard the ads. It’s time to stuff the turkeys, preheat the ovens and get ready for the worst day at work ever.
If any of you, like me, have worked retail, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Not Thanksgiving, not boring football games and not awkward conversations with relatives you only see once a year.
I’m talking about the infamous Black Friday.
Every year, retail centers around the nation gear up as millions plan to stop stuffing their faces, rebutton their pants and start heading out to malls, plazas, gallerias and big box stores for the annual consumerist pilgrimage.
Let’s face it, it’s good business. According to financial website TheBalance.com, last year, $74.2 million people shelled out $30.6 billion on that fateful day, and that’s just in brick-and-mortar store sales.
According to Fortune magazine, when you factor in online shopping, that figure jumps to a whopping $34.6 billion.
Not bad for one day’s sales, and retailers know this, which is why they double down and try every trick in the book just to get you in the door.
According to TheBalance.com, last year, shoppers spent about $280 on average on Black Friday, down from years prior, with the majority of that going to the first store they visit.
Realizing this, retailers have started enticing customers to “make it rain” those early dollars by offering door-buster sales and extending hours, opening at midnight, or in some cases, not even closing at all.
However, all is not fun, dear, or full of holiday cheer.
Year after year, dramatic tales of shoppers being trampled, bloodied and beaten fill the media landscape. And for what? Over merchandise that, quite frankly, could have been purchased at another time, with much less hassle.
Today, it’s easier than ever to get a good deal on just about anything. Retailers are getting desperate and fighting for your buck in a shrinking marketplace, and with sale after sale, is anything ever really full price anymore?
Retailers like Amazon.com already offer items at or near the cheapest prices you’ll find, year-round. When they don’t, store price-matching policies and sites like Google Shopper or RetailMeNot.com help to ensure you get the best-possible deals.
So why the rush? What does this say about American culture and values? That we’re willing to turn our backs on tradition and quality time with our loved (and not-so-loved) ones by spending money we don’t have on junk we don’t need.
I love a sale as much as the next person, but it’s getting ridiculous. Ridiculous that families are torn apart by sales and ridiculous that store employees have to abandon their family plans to be at work to accommodate sale-crazed shoppers.
Fun and exciting? Yes. Worth the trouble? No.
For me, Black Friday is nothing more than a cash grab to kick off the holiday season. There’s nothing you can get on Black Friday that, with a little digging, you can’t get any other day of the year.
So, this year, take time to step back, put your credit card back in your wallet and enjoy the rare quality time you have with your families. The stores (and sales) will still be there on Saturday.
