Black Friday

Friday, November 24th is Black Friday. That's the day after Thanksgiving Day, the day that retailers have historically set to attract consumers to their stores to sell them the junk they think they need themselves, but really hate to buy in order to give to Uncle Claude and Aunt Anettte. Because they would like to keep the purchase themselves instead of giving them as Christmas presents and would like to keep the money they are spending on other people, Black Friday shoppers can be an unpleasant lot. Black Friday is somewhat like the Catholic 'Holy Day of Obligation'. You hate being there but you are afraid of some punishment (as in no more of those trendy presents available to give if you wait until after Black Friday to buy your gifts)  if you get a hold of your reason and stay home on that maniacal shopping spree day.

But alas! To get those great shopping day sales the day after Thanksgiving on Black Friday one need not go any longer to the mall. The consumer can now buy on line, and some Black Friday sales start as much as a week or two before Black Friday itself. Yep! The greed of the sellers for profits and those computers that consumers can use to avoid fist fights with crazed shoppers wrestling over the child toy their kid says he has to have to sustain life, are perhaps denting the Black Friday tradition by making it a more than one day event.

In truth, the sales on Black Friday are attractive for some loss leader sale items. But overall, the days before Christmas that are closer to Christmas than is Black Friday itself have always offered the best sales for buyers. Still, some shoppers love the mall experience of Black Friday. It's a sport for them, one in which they are winners or losers based on how much of their money they spend on presents fro people they often dislike. Too, apparently just thinking you are getting a great deal is actually better for the soul than really waiting to buy Christmas gifts later when prices are lower and conditions for shopping are much more comfortable.

The biggest malls all across the U.S. are digging deep into their pockets to attract customers for Black Friday sale day, rolling out everything from winter castles and Santa sightings to gingerbread making classes and temporary skating rinks to turkey at the food court instead of at grandma's house. But Black Friday is one day for a little more traffic and more interest awakening in those shoppers. It may encourage them to re visit the mall another time. In the end the reality is that most consumers nowadays intend to do at least some portion of their holiday shopping online, many malls will be happy if the Black Friday shoppers  just make a few extra impulse purchases on Black Friday. May all your Black Friday gifts not be ugly Christmas sweaters