Black Friday
A few years ago, I wrote an article describing my woeful experience of Christmas shopping at Wal-Mart, early on the Friday morning following Thanksgiving.
No other article I have ever written has elicited such responses from readers. I have had countless people tell me of similar experiences on what has become known nationwide as "Black Friday." It was not just the time of year and the remembrance of that shopping trip that made me want to revisit our seemingly national hysteria where holidays and other mass market shopping sprees are concerned. In just the past few days, this new electronic device known as Play Station III was released for sale. You would have thought the California "gold rush" had returned. Costing in the neighborhood of $500, for these game computers, customers were lined up fully battle ready for the limited numbers that were available for sale. Unfortunately, the stampede to get one of these few machines turned ugly in some places with actual fights and injuries. Before you disparage these youngsters and their parents think back to the "Cabbage Patch Doll" phenomena.
Black Friday will have its own must have items for the nation's shoppers. Just like my fateful purchasing excursion a few years ago, Wal-Mart will again have a long list of those "I have to have one" items. What time of day will they begin to line up in the parking lot? They may make "tailgating" even bigger than at Arrowhead Stadium. After all you better be there early and in line if you don't want to miss out.
A little research actually shed some light on the sales trends for Americans. I was astounded to learn that "Black Friday" only came in sixth as the most important sales day. Despite all the hype and advertising, Dec. 23 has retained the top spot for many years now as the most significant purchasing day of the year. In fact, this year the 23rd falls on a Saturday.
Business forecasters are predicting that this date may well set a record since it takes place on a weekend.
I think "Black Friday" probably is farther down the list because there are too many shoppers that day.
How can you buy anything when the stores and parking lots are so crowded you can barely move? Another factor is now beginning to have a profound effect on Christmas sales and when those sales happen.
"Black Monday" is a new term for retailers. It refers to the Monday following Thanksgiving. It is a day when millions of people return to work and they begin to plan their gift purchases by seeking the best buys online. Consumer experts say they expect sales this year to top $15 billion up 26 percent from last year. The single busiest day of these online sales is now that Monday following Thanksgiving. Many of the shoppers are actually doing their gift searches at work. Thirty-seven percent of all workers admit to shopping online. Nothing new here, we used to do it with catalogs in the break room.
One other major change in gift procurement is the meteoric rise of the gift or shopping card. These cards come in a variety of types. Some can only be redeemed at a certain retail store. Some are like credit cards. They have a set amount built in and once that is reached the card is void. Retailers report that the number of people who have bought gift cards is now up to 45 percent. A year ago it was only 11 percent of retail sales. Plastic is the new "stocking stuffer!" A few last notes on gift cards. Retailers like them because they represent cash. Cash just sitting there in accounts with future purchases to be made. Some never get redeemed. Others find that their customers end up buying more because it is hard to buy just the amount listed on the card. For example, if you give a $25 card that is all you can spend. If you buy something worth a total of $23 you don't get the rest back in cash. So you will often buy something else to use up the extra money and end up buying more than you had originally intended.
All this shopping talk has me thinking "bah, humbug" already. We are just so tied to Christmas economically. Every retailer knows that over half of his yearly profits must be made during the holiday rush. Many people love the holidays, but others feel trapped. They know they must spend much of their nest eggs each year on gifts or they will be thought of as an old "Scrooge." Many others will run up unbelievable amounts on their credit cards. They will be stressed out and wonder how they are ever going to pay for everything. Still if you ask them, they will say that they must not disappoint their families. It's thinking like this that makes Play Station III's so popular.
Yes my friends it's "Black Friday," followed by the new "Black Monday." The cycle goes on and on year after year. Me I'm no better than anyone else. I don't really like shopping very much, so I will send the gift cards whenever possible. The black days will pass and then there will be "Drab Tuesday" That's the day after Christmas when all the sales begin, and everyone brings back their unwanted gifts for returns. Just thinking about all this has made me "black and blue!"