Black Friday Adventures

“That’s MY toaster oven lady!”

“No, I saw it first, back off!”

“AHHH!” (Lady grabs toaster oven and runs off)

“GET BACK HERE YOU OLD WITCH!” (Women chases the lady with the toaster oven)

These are the wonderful adventures on Black Friday. Stores are full of anxious shoppers every year, on “Black Friday” (the day after Thanksgiving). The arguments and the aggressive sides that are exposed during this long, awaited day are unbelievable.

There are a couple different theories of where the title “Black Friday” came from. A possible reasoning is because of the black tire marks left from all the heavy traffic on the roads. Another idea is because of the black ink used to show profit income, increases during this time. Throughout the year, stores use red ink to show that they have not yet made profit on their goods. It’s said that around Thanksgiving and Christmas, stores finally begin to make an income and they use black ink to show it. (Link) Since the holidays are around the corner, people are out shopping.

According to The Wall Street Journal, there was a rise in shoppers this year. A rough estimate of 195 million consumers roamed the stores this Black Friday, compared to 172 million people in 2008. Although there were more buyers, there was less buying per person. According to the National Retail Federation, the average amount of money spent by each person lowered to $343.31. Last Black Friday, the average was $372.57 per a person. However, because more consumers are shopping, more money was spent. During the four-day weekend, there was a total of 41.2 billion dollars made by stores, close to the 41 billion spent last year. (Link)

Online shopping rates went up. On Thanksgiving, purchases went up 10 percent, and on Black Friday it went up 11 percent.

Some stores were worried about their income rate this Black Friday due to the economy. Because of this issue, stores bought less goods and filled their shelves with cheaper purchases, hoping everyone would find what he or she was looking for. Unfortunately, not all stores had systems that worked out to the customers pleasing. Chelsea Gourley, a junior said, “Many stores could have improved on their lines and could have had more people working the cash registers.” Target was one store that had the line weaving in and out of the isles with one person at the front of the line directing which register a costumer should go to. The line lasted from one and a half hours to two. I stood in line at Target from 7:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. because the lines were weaving in and out of the isles, it was hard for the shoppers to shop. My mom told the manager that the system was not a very good one and he responded by saying, “Well it works for us.” Which gave off the impression that they did not care about their customer’s satisfaction.

Another problem I experienced at Target was in the electronic department. My grandma was looking for the $88 cameras advertised and asked the man behind the counter for assistance. He explained to her that they were all out and apologized; the camera was for me, therefore, I walked around the area looking for another cheap sale. A couple minutes later, a woman walked up and asked the same gentlemen for the $88 camera. He told her they were all out, but she could have the display camera. My grandma heard this conversation and confronted the man about the issue; he then opened the cupboard and found four more of the $88 cameras (we bought two).

Not all people are fans of Black Friday. There are groups that organize a “Buy Nothing Day” on Black Friday. They protest the level of consumerism in the United States and in Canada. They literally buy nothing on this day and persuade others to do the same. Personally, I do not agree with this organization. Black Friday is an exciting day, and since it is a day full of sales, it is a great time to shop!