I have never been to a Black Friday sale
I’m usually too wiped out from all the turkey I ate the night before on Thanksgiving. But I have seen the videos and heard the stories from friends who brave the craziness that is Black Friday. Here are some statistics about Black Friday to get you prepared, if you are one of the daring that head to the sales the day after Thanksgiving. Good luck.
Black Friday Statistics
One in three adult Americans will go shopping on Black Friday. That’s insane. Seriously, why even bother? I know there are a lot of savings to be had, but we now have something called the INTERNET, and I highly encourage you save yourself the stress and anxiety and do your shopping online, far away from any Walmart or Best Buy or Target or wherever you intended to shop on November 28th. You’ll get most of the same savings and 99% will be shipped for free. Can’t beat that! Unless of course you are one of the 57% who actually find the Black Friday experience “fun”. I call them Black Friday adrenaline junkies. There is no other reason for subjecting yourself to that type of chaos.
Extra security in almost every Walmart in the US
Of course, due to past Black Friday tragedies, 4,000 Walmart’s stores will be beefing up their security measures in anticipation of Black Friday. That’s really great news, except there are 4,177 Walmart’s in the US, so try to avoid one of the 177 Walmart stores that aren’t adding extra security for Black Friday. Or should I say Gray Thursday, because we are not just talking about Black Friday anymore. Why only have one day of “you won’t believe the savings” sales, when you can have two? Of course, this means that Walmart (and others) are like Thanksgiving grinches, trying to steal the second best day of the year – Christmas being number one. Instead of being thankful and sharing good food and good times with family and loved ones, Walmart and company now want you to spend spend spend. Please, don’t let them ruin Thanksgiving. As someone who has worked many a retail jobs, Thanksgiving and Christmas were the two days you could count on to have off. Or at the very least, have a half day and be home for Thanksgiving dinner. Never did my boss expect me to return at 6pm to deal with rabid sales hounds. So, if you’re reading this, Walmart and others, be thankful for your hardworking employees and let them stay home on Thanksgiving and enjoy a little family time and delicious eats.
My Impressions of Black Friday
I get that people want to save money, and I have friends who hit Black Friday sales because its tradition and they enjoy witnessing the frenzy first hand. But Black Friday to me, means blacking out on the couch from all the turkey I ate the night before and will continue to eat all of Friday. I’ll sit peacefully at home with a movie or a book, shaking my head in disbelief at all the people who brave the stores on Black Friday. “Why do they do it?” I’ll say, “Christmas is weeks away, there’s plenty of time to shop, why do it on the same day as everyone else?” And I’ll carry that superiority all the way to December 23rd when it suddenly hits me “D’oh, I still need to buy Christmas presents!” and wouldn’t you know it, I am one of those crazy people who run around frantically the day before Christmas hoping that I can still get the stuff I intended to buy. Meanwhile, my friends are peacefully sitting at home, wrapping presents, drinking eggnog, and watching black and white Christmas movies shaking their heads going “why does she do it, will she ever learn?” Will I ever learn? Probably not. But I’ll take shopping on December 23rd over getting pepper sprayed in a Walmart on Black Friday.
Happy holidays everyone!
For great online content to help boost your website and business, talk to the team at Impressions Group Marketing. We’ll help you and your business make all the right Impressions in all the right places.