I’ve never had the courage to venture out to the mall on Black Friday, but I have had the lovely experience of working in retail during this frenzy.
Granted, my outlet store didn’t have the same crowds as Best Buy; however, the outlet mall did start a new trend of opening its doors at midnight.
This new trend had customers parking on freeway exit ramps and walking the rest of the way to the mall. To me, something seems backwards about this-not what I would call post-Thanksgiving dinner fun. Upsurd is the only word that comes to my mind.
Forget the hassle.
Many people have figured out a more relaxing way to digest their turkey and to get some holiday deals–online shopping.
Online shoppers spent a record $531 million this past Friday, which is up 22 percent from last year, according to a comScore news release. More sale increases are expected throughout the holiday season.
Holiday rush
If similar sales are available online, why do shoppers still brave the elements to line up outside a store to buy the latest trinkets?
We live in a world that turning mostly digital, yet we still find security in face-to-face interaction. Hmm…What is it about searching a store, paying a cashier versus clicking a mouse that makes us feel more secure?
Must be our good ol’ human nature and our need for an interactive experience. I’m sure it won’t be long until online shopping will turn into a more interactive experience.
I am thankful during this holiday season that I no longer work in retail and I can sit at home happily clicking my mouse.
This year was the first year that I experienced Black Friday shopping. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I knew that it was a very hectic time to go shopping. I went to an outlet mall near my house and when I pulled up all I could see was the exit ramp backed up about 7-10 miles. Although the large crowd of people, I enjoyed getting great deals on some of my favorite things. I am not sure if all the hassle and commotion is worth it in the end. In the near future I will probably relay on online shopping. The one down fall to shopping online is the fact that you are unable to walk away with your purchases in your hands.
I love this blog. I work in retail also and I just recently worked the deadly “Black Friday”. I have worked retail since I was sixteen and I have never experienced the day after Thanksgiving like I have the past two years. Last year I worked at Kohl’s Department Store and the after Thanksgiving day sales were going on. I do not understand why people would get up that early to get an extra ten percent off of a microwave! We have better sales during the year anyways. I think that the after Thanksgiving day sales are just hype. I work at a smaller boutique/retail store in the mall now and we were not as busy as the department store, but we still had crazy lines. I agree with you and I would NEVER shop the day after Thanksgiving. I guess when you work retail that you realize how much it is totally not worth it to go out and shop that morning.
I love that there is shopping online and that they had sales just as the in stores had. It is such a smarter idea to go online with a click of the mouse and order whatever you need for the holidays. This year on “Black Friday”, it was snowing and it was very cold. I hated that I had to even get up and go out in the weather just to work the craziest day of the year. I think my store made a few thousand more dollars then we would on a regular day, and we did not have many things on an outrageous sale, so I agree with “Whats all the hype about!”
For me, Black Friday is more of a tradition then anything, I have gone for the past 5 years with my mother, and even though we never buy anything that is a “doorbuster” or that is a true bargain, we still get up at 4:30 in the morning to deal with the crowds, because it just wouldn’t be the same holiday season if we didn’t go. I also understand where you are coming from, we went into Kohl’s on friday morning at 5 and the lines from both registers were wrapped around the entire store and even crossed eachother at the back, now I go to Kohl’s on a regular basis, and EVERYTHING is ALWAYS on sale. I went through the ad and there was nothing that was a significant enough amount of saving to stand in line for up to 2 hours. With that I agree with you, it’s not worth dealing with that many people, in the cold, for that long, just to save a few dollars. Hopefully soon, more people will shop on-line. That way, it wouldn’t be so congested on Black Friday.
I as well am amazed by Blak Friday. I had never been a part of the madness until this year. I had a friend who was determined to get a deal on a digital camera at Wal-mart, and i agreed to help him.
It was truly an event worth seeing. It seemed as if it were a sport to a lot of the shoppers. The sale began at 5:00am, and around 4:30 people were just walking the isles and staring at eachother asif they were about to fight to the death. Then at 5:00, when the tarps were removed from the product, a civilized riot began.
There is no doubt that online shopping will continue to grow, but I think the madness of Black Friday is here to stay. I think there are a lot of middle age housewives who wait for it all year asif it’s the Super Bowl of shopping.
I can see how the “thrill” of Black Friday could be exciting as a tradition: “Let’s see who can survive!” As for me, I avoid shopping at all costs when it comes to the day after Thanksgiving. The last things on my list of what I want to do on break are waking up super early and waiting in line. I would rather pay a few more dollars than experience what so many people willingly put themselves through on Black Friday. I wonder if I actually LOVED shopping, if I’d look at this day differently, but probably not.
Ironically, today in my Law of Advertising and PR class, we discussed ways advertisements can be deceptive. There are plenty of ways stores could be duping customers into thinking they are getting great deals on the items they buy. For example, I’ve also shopped at Kohl’s, and Heather is right. The ALWAYS have super sales. Not just on Black Friday.
As for online shopping, as our shopping lists get longer, the more appealing online shopping becomes. But I think that being able to see the gifts we buy right before our eyes, and knowing we can depend on ourselves to ‘deliver’them safely home are what’s keeping many consumers from becoming exclusively online shoppers.
I do not understand the concept of waking up to fight crowds for items that you are not even guaranteed to be able to purchase on Black Friday. Consumers have to understand that Black Friday is only ONE of the busiest days for shopping during the holiday season. There are two even more hectic days that contain even better sales, these are Cyber Monday and Christmas Eve. Consumers also have to realize that the only reason that retailers hype up Black Friday is because it is used to gauge the amount of income they are going to see during the holiday season. It is all about supply and demand, and generating income for these businesses anyway. Personally, I shop whenever the mood strikes me. I will purchase items on the internet or in stores, whenever I decide it is appropriate and cheapest.
I agree with the author 100%. I do not see a good reason for people, who probably haven’t slept since the previous night, to drive to the mall in the middle of the night just to get first dibs on a certain item that they could get on the internet at any time. Especially after eating all of that Thanksgiving turkey! And when it comes to face to face interaction when shopping, I see no need for it. There is no way of knowing that the man or woman at the cash register didn’t somehow accidently rip you off. I understand that many people may worry about having a problem with shipping, but many companys have guarantees. As for me, my shopping will be easy this year. Easy as the click of a mouse!