Black Friday is a American tradition that seems to be taking over Thanksgiving the American holiday. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving where almost every store has some type of sale. Recently as Thanksgiving is not being treated as much of a holiday many stores are starting their sales on Thanksgiving day. Some stores including Walmart, Target and Safeway are not closing their store for the Thanksgiving holiday.
A lot of people stay in on Black Friday avoiding the crowds of people or simply because the sale aren’t worth the hassle. In an article by Bloomberg Matthew Bloyd says, “…Black Friday still matters, but its relevance is fading as the shopping season now stretches from the week before Halloween to Christmas Eve. Retailers like Walmart Inc. and Best Buy Co. push the starting gate forward each year to grab early birds, while the proliferation of faster online fulfillment options lets procrastinators wait until the last minute.”
For decades Black Friday has been America’s biggest shopping year as many people are out getting their holiday shopping done at the best prices. Black Friday is becoming a multiple day event. This can be good for everyone in hopes to bring down the chaos for shoppers and retail workers.
According to an article by Hustle it says, The National Retail Federation estimates that 114.6m Americans more than 50% of the country’s adult population will participate in Black Friday shopping. Though many will stick to online sales, millions will still brave the crowds at brick-and-mortar stores, knocking elbows over TVs and holiday toys.” As many people would rather stay in on Black Friday deals and sales are hard to pass up as the holiday’s can be an expensive time of the year.
Holiday shopping can be stressful, fighting the crowds, finding parking and putting a strain on finances the week long Black Friday sales can ease the stress. Many people look forward to Black Friday as a tradition or holiday for them and their family. A Sonoma State student who asked not to be named says, “Black Friday is a tradition for my family as we don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving as much of a holiday we all get together and spend time shopping and walking around stores.”
Black Friday is also being offered online for almost every store that is having a sale. As cyber Monday has became a big hit in the recent years, many people don’t have to wait until Monday to get the online deals anymore. Amazon being one of the biggest online stores to shop the deals has almost every product you can think of with same day or next day delivery for the people who still want to avoid the crowds of Black Friday but can still get the deals and get them delivered fast.
Black Friday seems to become a holiday for most American’s and the deals as something to look forward to, while many also dread the shopping experience. An article by Motleyfool.com says, “According to research from Adobe Analytics, U.S. consumers spent an estimated $6.2 billion on Black Friday 2018. This ridiculous sum of money doesn’t even include Cyber Monday spending, and spending on online purchases was even higher at an estimated $7.9 billion.
Spending in the billions may be good for retailers, but it’s not great for Americans — many of whom have too much debt, emergency funds that are too small, and too little saved for retirement.”