When I hear advertisements for Black Friday sales beginning at ungodly hours like 4 am, I cringe. There’s nothing that terrifies me more than the thought of waiting in line with avid shoppers, all jockeying to have first crack at the SpongeBob pajamas. The kind of stores I frequent do not participate in Black Friday door busters, and I like it that way.The name given to the shopping bonanza originates from the time when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink denoted loss while black ink indicated profitability. The volume of sales the day after Thanksgiving always brought retailers out of the ‘red’ into the ‘black’. The current economic stalemate threatens to make a mockery of the nickname, as few retailers worldwide will see the elusive profits they so desperately need. I will be doing my part, as I already have plans to hit the Long Island malls with my mom in search of a few holiday treasures (dressed in sturdy boots for stomping through crowds and a stampede-proof vest.)
Though J.Crew has resisted the current deep discount trend, they are in the minority this holiday season. Ann Taylor, Loft, Banana, Gap, Bloomingdales, and Lord and Taylor are among the majority offering tantalizing deals to attract consumers into their stores, which are bursting at the seams with ripe holiday merchandise. For those adverse to the mobs of sale hungry wolves that will be out in full force Friday, many of the aforementioned brands are offering free shipping on their .com sites, several with no minimum purchase required. The Loft is already thinking ahead to the desolate post-Christmas lull and offering a 20% off coupon, good from December 28th through January 24th with any donation to St. Jude’s that you make with purchase. Get a good, tryptophan-induced night’s sleep Thursday and do your part to keep Black Friday in the Black!
(photo credit to Grace Magazine)
Inevitably, every year on Black Friday, during the evening when I flick on the news, the network will air the obligatory "shoppers storm Target at 4:00 am to take advantage of deep discounts" story. Although I detest this news story, that I have watched this news clip every year on Black Friday for as long as I can remember makes into somewhat of a holiday tradition.
ReplyDeleteLast evening's news featured all sorts of sleeping shelters lined up outside Target, or was it Wal-Mart? They're all the same to me. How anyone could endure such discomfort for the sake of a "deal of the century" leaves me puzzled. It's way easier to walk into Bloomies and shop, then go downstairs to the gift wrap desk and have all your treasures beautifully wrapped. If you have lots of packages to be wrapped, walk over to the dining area and have a delicious frozen yogurt (plain) with granola while they're being wrapped. Now that's the deal of the century!
ReplyDeleteI don't care for Black Friday, I hide out. But I always want to help the retailers out!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I was ever so ashamed to be an American as last November when I was living in France and I had to explain how people from my country trampled someone to death on Black Friday.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you feel the same way. I like good deals on clothes, but I would never do the whole black friday thing. One, I like to take my time when shopping and I hate shopping when it's crowded and two, it just seems like supporting a ridiculous consumer culture.
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