I’m not going to mince words here and the title of this post kinda says it all. I really think that this entire Black Friday debacle should be renamed “Black Eye” Friday given what it is, what it does and where it seems to be heading.
Black Friday historically is an American retail occurrance that symbolically kicks of the holiday shopping season. Taking place the day after US Thanksgiving, since so many Americans tend to make a 4 day weekend out of this holidy, retailers historically would kick off the season with deep discounts and early openings designed to set the consumerism that surrounds Christmas and the holiday season into high gear.
The name “Black Friday” comes from the suggestion that retailers go into the black or begin to make an annual profit with the launch of the holiday shopping period. However, the retail marketing machines have so over-hyped this day and desperate bargain hunters have so bought into the hype, the end result is clearly more of a black eye than a period of profit.
In this world of instant news, there is never a shortage of videos showing pathetic displays of people lunging and fighting over things like electronics and appliances in the belief that they’re getting a deal so good that it’s worth making a complete ass out of yourself. I’m writing this post before 11AM EST on Black Friday and You Tube is already littered with video examples such as the one I’m showing here:
In year’s past we have seen stories of people brandishing weapons in line to ensure they get that stupid toaster at a ridiculous (?) price. Tragically we’ve even heard of employees being literally trampled to death as the mad rush of people…some of whom camp out days in advance…rush like caged wild animals being released in order to be the first to get that bargain.
Even more upsetting is the fact that these deals…really aren’t deals at all! Today the Wall Street Journal posted a video story about how retailers build in the Black Friday madness into their pricing structure to ensure that they still make an overall profit margin that they are happy with. THAT’S RIGHT…they’ll often inflate a price to make you believe you’re getting an amazing deal at 6AM or some other God-foresaken hour!
Even more ridiculous is that many of these supposed amazing deals will continue on for days, or even weeks afterwards. You
‘re made to believe that it worth risking your life over to get this amazing deal, but many studies have shown that the deals usually continue well into the holiday season. There have even been discoveries that the best deals are yet to come!
Sadly, this US tradition is leaching into Canada and it’s now virtually unavoidable north of the 49th as well. Canadian retailers (or Canadian branches of American retailers in many cases) claim that they need to follow suit as an effort to protect themselves from losing their customers to the US. While there may be some validity to this, I have a hard time believing that the potential revenue risk is so big that it necessitates creating an entire Black Friday concept up here as well. It is a regular work day like any other, yet people will take a day off from work or arrive at a mall at 3AM (I saw a woman on TV boast that she arrived at Yorkdale in Toronto at 3AM to be there first) just to get a bargain. No, I remain steadfast in my belief that Canada’s embracing of Black Friday has more to do with opportunism and less to do with protectionism.
Obviously not everyone shares my point of view here, and I’ll likely have dissenting opinion on this. Some will defend this as a great time to save on holiday shopping and retailers will defend the practice as necessary. While I’m always open to a good deal myself I still feel that retailers should be held to task for creating this hysteria simply for the sake of profit.
Why the Wal Mart’s and Target’s of the retail world would allow for such ridiculous displays of conspicuous consumption and false desire is a disgrace. This shows just how much work we have to do as a society to rid ourselves of the unsustainable lifestyle we have come accustomed to, which in turn has caused so much environmental damage to our ecosystem.
Black Friday is an example of western lifestyle at its worst. A couple weeks ago we saw similar displays of people rushing hysterically for items and causing public safety issues, however in that case it was residents of the Phillippines fighting for basic staples of life like food and water after their world was literally decimated by the massive Typhoon Haiyan. They were fighting for survival while Black Friday shoppers are fighting for frivolity and instant gratification. When you then see similar displays of people rushing and fighting over TV’s, appliances, designer shoes or clothes…well let’s just say the comparison should make just about anyone shakes their heads in disgust.
Black Friday is something I wish would disappear and never come back. Black Eye’s heal over time, but sadly I can’t help but think that the Black Eye Friday is only going to get worse.
Count me out and I hope many others will eventually follow suit.
Thank you for writing this eric!!!
I totally agree with you, is the toaster or computer really worth your dignity. I like that black friday has finally come to canada, but at what cost. great piece!
Thanks Amber. These are indeed First World Problems, that in context compared to what else is happening around the world really need to make us shake our heads in disgust.