Black Eye Friday

Thanksgiving is all about tradition and going home to a sequence of events that I don’t get to do any other time of the year. First any form of diet I may have quickly goes out the door as I remember what it tastes like to have food made by someone other than Lean Cuisine, Asian Bistro, Subway or Wendy’s. I then begin my self induced food coma with a large plate of turkey, honey baked ham, corn bread, various casseroles, vegetables and desserts. I wash everything down with large glass of red wine and have approximately 1 hour to be social with my family before the tryptophan begins to hit me. At this point I move to the den where I fall asleep under a big blanket to the soothing voice of my incredibly sexy Thanksgiving boyfriend Pierce Brosnan. I wake up briefly for leftovers around dinnertime and agree to a game of Scrabble where I question whether or not I deserve a college degree. I head to bed with butterflies in my stomach because the next morning awaits the greatest event in professional shopping (yes, it’s a sport and not everyone can do it well) BLACK FRIDAY.  

For those of you less aggressive shoppers, Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year where retailers rake in serious cash and often move from deficits (the red) to profits (black) for the year hence the name Black Friday. My dad has dubbed the day “Black Eye Friday” because it is 24 hours where American’s lose their mind, dignity, and sometimes their children all for the price of a 3 for 1 DVD special. I welcome this confrontation and challenge anyone to get in the way of me and a 75% off cashmere sweater. The average Jane does not realize I have not been in anything other than a JC Penny, Sears, Forever 21, and Wal-Mart in months thanks to retail sacrifice I have made for my education. This is NOT a holiday for the faint.

Now that you have a feel for this pseudo holiday, let’s return to why I love it. The sales are an obvious but the next greatest aspect of Black Friday is the marketing. With Thanksgiving less than 10 hours old, the retail world transports us to a winter wonderland through a alluring array of shopper marketing, commercials, and seductive temporary price reductions. This year there have been an unprecedented number of promotions offered by retailers to customers who use location-based applications and services. Tempting…. Marketers better be part of the social media game this Holiday season otherwise they will lose valuable potential followers to their competition.

I have never been a user to foursquare or Facebook places because I frankly find them invasive and creepy. While I have no interest in telling people I have checked into ZSR library, Black Friday will undoubtedly turn me to the dark side for an additional 20% off. If I am this easy, there have to be hundreds of thousands of other pathetic victims willing to try out new forms of social media for a better deal.

The question is what is your tipping point?  A 2 for 1 deal, 20% or 30% off, a free pair of socks? How low will you stoop for Black Eye Friday?

-Olivia Mills