'Tis the season for family, friends, warmth, and….holiday spending.
As Thanksgiving week came, so did store sales. Listening to radio advertisements about how stores would open during the typical dinner time for most Americans got me thinking--how much has holiday shopping really changed over the years? How "greedy" have we really become over the past several years?
According to the National Retail Foundation (NRF), since 2009, consumer spending during the holiday season per person went up approximately 200 dollars. This clearly demonstrates how consumer spending has increased at an extremely high rate, although, there is more to such a story.
Many families seemed to have enough time for turkey this Thanksgiving, but saved the dessert for later, as holiday sales seemed to take priority.
While traditionally Black Friday took place on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Black Friday nowadays could be considered a major holiday pastime that begins midday on Thanksgiving Day. The NRF also cited that not only did traffic grow 27 percent, but more than one-quarter of holiday shoppers were in stores by 8:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
JC Penney opened its doors on Thanksgiving Day at 3:00 p.m. and Gander Mountain was open from 8:00 a.m. until midnight. Resisting competitive pressure to open on Thanksgiving this year came without regrets from H&M, Nordstrom, Pier One, Costco, and Nordstrom, just to name a few. They decided to start their Black Friday sales on Friday as usual, allowing their employees to spend Thanksgiving Day with their families.
What can be concluded from recent NRF research? Some family members are required to miss out on festivities because of early work commitments on one of the most family oriented holidays of the year. The makers of the cheapest sales items in countries such as Taiwan and China are boasting at our cheap moneymaking sales, while we leave the dinner table and quality time with our family to save a buck.
I believe starting Black Friday earlier proves our nation is indeed becoming increasingly greedier each year. Wal-Mart had a total of 20 million shoppers and 10 million transactions between 6:00 and 10 p.m. just on Thanksgiving Day; a significant increase from the past few years. Projections by the NRF indicate Holiday sales are still expected to increase 3.9 percent to $602 billion.
I think it’s safe to say that the retail industry appears to be blossoming, whilst families are separated during the holiday season. Why does shopping have to steal the spotlight? I think it's time the millennial generation look on past generations and stop abandoning family time for monetary purposes.
