An Adventure with "Black Friday"

            The concept of Black Friday has been around for as long as I can remember.  My parents would wake up early (maybe 5:00 AM) to hit up Staples by 6:00 AM for the latest software updates for our computer or next year's tax software.  I experienced my first Black Friday while being employed at Vera Bradley at a local mall, working the 2:00 AM - 10:00 AM shift one year and the 12:00 AM - 8:00 AM shift the next year.  But I never experienced the consumer shopping side of it until last year, when I went out to Target at midnight for a fake Christmas tree for my apartment and some flannel sheets (exciting, I know).  I had such a great time last year, watching all the crazy people fight over TVs and the latest toys, that I was planning on going out again this year.  But maybe not as early as store opening this year...

            Target, WalMart, and other retailers have recently announced that they plan on opening their doors on Thanksgiving day this year, 9:00 PM and 8:00 PM respectively.  To be honest, I find this to be awful.  I find this to be a poor decision on the retailers' part, because eventually, we will find that Thanksgiving is no longer a holiday, but a shopping day.  The employees of these retailers that can not afford to take off work on Thanksgiving, will lose that special time that they had always been allowed with their families.  Instead, they will be spending Thanksgiving evening with crazy consumers, upset that the store has gone out of stock of the latest Blu-Ray player.

            This subject has been talked about quite a bit in the news, with many people upset about it.  I am not sure what the retailers' "problem" was in relation to the addition of these hours.  I am quite confident that they all achieved the sales that they needed to in previous Black Fridays, so why cause so much drama in the public eye over this.  I find it to be a bad PR move on each of their parts.

            I am not saying that these retailers will lose drastic amounts of business over this decision, because I am sure there are plenty of crazy people out there willing to wait in line even earlier than they were previously planning, all to get one item.  But I think that this decision has ignored the idea of giving thanks for what we as people ALREADY have on Thanksgiving, and encouraging people to not be satisfied with what they have and come shop even earlier, maybe eventually forgetting what the holiday is all about.

An Adventure with the Holiday Shopping Season

            Though consumers are mainly focused on Halloween being a few days away, retailers and producers have been focused on the upcoming holiday season for weeks.  Many retailers are already speculating as to what will be on everyone's list this year so they can prepare what to have in stock.  According to some researchers, the belief is that retro toys will be a huge seller. But there is also speculation that some of the new hot tech toys will be at the top of the charts.  Though the economy is not in its best form, many major retailers are offering layaway, which is helping to increase sales.

            My best guess at the retailers' problem is that they have struggled to sell higher priced items during the past holiday seasons.  People are spending so much on parties, meals, decorations, and gifts for others, that some people can not afford the high priced items.

            By adding layaway, many people believe that they can afford the items that they want and need because they are paying for the item over a period of time, rather than all at once.  They can also complete all of their holiday shopping earlier by placing items on layaway.

            The target audience for layaway is more than likely lower-income families and young professionals struggling to afford gifts for everyone.  The idea of completing a shopping list months before the holidays can also be quite appealing to anyone.  So many people stress over getting everything done that this could draw anyone into a major retailer, and maybe even encourage them to purchase more than they initially intended (impulse buys).

            I believe that this addition of layaway could be very successful for retailers as long as it is advertised enough (WalMart appears to be doing a good job now; I have seen a lot of their advertisements for layaway on TV), as well as encouraged to consumers while at their point-of-purchase.