As we near Halloween, I think of how quick the holidays will swing into gear, and I can't help but notice that this year there won't be a Black Friday. Stores have extended deals for longer periods of time and more frequently throughout the year. This is what sent Black Friday to the grave.
I recently read an article on Business Insider that explained how this is great news for bargain shoppers and for the survival of retail. I have worked in retail before, and I understand how annoying and tiring the holiday shopping season is. Black Friday used to be the worst day of the year to work since retailers opened earlier and earlier each year, and you would work yourself to the point of exhaustion. Now with stores being open on Thanksgiving and seeing a more deals extended over time, it's just as if you are working another busy day in retail. It's a lot better physically and mentally for the employees. Although we feel bad for employees working on Thanksgiving, some actually dislike the holidays and don't mind working to make extra money. The dwindling of Black Friday has brought pros to the retail industry and its employees, but along with the pros comes some cons.
Although the death of Black Friday has allowed for the survival of retail, it has been a blow to retailer's bottom line. With these extended deals, it has trained consumers to shop on deals. Black Friday and even Cyber Monday were the two days that nearly every consumer looked forward to. It was the few days where there were incredible deals and were truly the best deals of the year. Although it caused retailers a lot of work, keeping higher/normal prices throughout the year and then slashing prices on Black Friday was the best way to increase their bottom line. Black Friday was made to increase retailers' bottom line.
Black Friday to me- and many other- used to be another holiday it itself and it is a holiday I miss. I don't miss the violent, nasty consumers fighting over deals, but I do miss the "crazy" atmosphere. Black Friday was the day where my mom, aunt, and girl friends used to have a girls day and go shopping for deals. It was another day for us to bond. We would be like typical "white girls" and buy our Starbucks then stand in lines. While in line we'd look at fliers, and map out what stores we would hit up and what deals we wanted to get a hold of. When the stores would open we'd run to get the things we wanted and if we didn't get what we wanted we'd laugh it off. Black Friday for us was all about bonding, having fun, and taking advantage of some deals. Now that stores are open on Thanksgiving and there are deals throughout the year, Black Friday lost its grandeur. As I look forward to the upcoming holidays this year my heart becomes a little more sad as I see stores continuing to open first thing on Thanksgiving.
I wish we could bring back Black Friday. Not starting on Thanksgiving or extended deals, but a Black Friday where stores open at 5a.m. (even midnight on Black Friday would be OK). For the time being all there is to do is hope that the Black Friday I used to know will be restored one day.
R.I.P Black Friday. May we meet again one day.