I’ll join in on the recent posts about Black Friday.
I made a mistake. I somehow winded up at Wal-Mart on Black Friday. I wanted to pick up some golf tees that night, so I wouldn’t have to deal with the foot traffic in the morning. Looking back, I would have been significantly better off going to a small sporting goods store the next morning. But I had no idea what to expect. I ‘knew’ Black Friday was packed, but I never understood the magnitude of the phenomenon. This was my first experience with Black Friday, and it will also be my last. What I saw absolutely shocked and amazed me. Each of the 25 check-out lines had 20 or more people in it. Each of those 20 or more people in line had a shopping cart full of discounts and offers. Certain shoppers even got to the store at 10 p.m. to be able to put special items into their shopping carts, even though they could not check out until midnight when the specials officially started. People were literally killing time in Wal-Mart for an hour and a half before getting in the 20 person line.
It's really that easy
The concept of Black Friday seems contradictory to the world we currently live in. Today, we see retailers being replaced by ecommerce sites such as Amazon or iTunes, or supplemented by their own sites such as BestBuy.com. We go to these sites for very simple reasons. They are available 24 hours a day, and we can access them from the comfort of our own home. Ecommerce rates continue to rise. They increased 9.8% from 2009 to 2010, and double digit growth rates are anticipated to grow from 2010 to 2011. Given this fundamental truth of our society valuing convenience and technology, why do we as a society participate in Black Friday when we have Cyber Monday? We live in a world where Blockbuster has gone bankrupt and Netflix has thrived because we would rather have DVD’s/digital options come straight to our home, rather than having to drive 3 miles down the road. Another example of this occurring can be seen in the book store industry. Borders is no longer existence thanks to the dominance of Amazon.
The reality is that the deals on Cyber Monday are very similar to those on Black Friday. Research has shown that people who shop on Black Friday also shop on Cyber Monday. That doesn’t surprise me, but it still is shocking that people will go through such lengths as waking up at 3 am to go to the mall to wait in line. Do people just not realize that the deals are similar? Do they want the instant gratification as opposed to having to wait for their items to be shipped? Consumers don’t desire instant gratification throughout the rest of the year, so I don’t understand why they would mandate it now. Clearly I appear to be in the minority on this issue given how many people go shopping on Black Friday, but I would just love someone to explain to me why they don’t just participate in Cyber Monday.
Robert Reinhard
I think it's the excitement of all the hype around the discounts. My cousin woke up at 2am so a group of her friends could be at the mall shopping at 4am. However, she admitted she didn't have any money to buy anything and there wasn't anything she really wanted anyway...she just wanted to be a part of the excitement. Maybe Black Friday is all about being a part of something big, while Cyber Monday is centered around the discounts themselves.
ReplyDeleteI think Black Friday may have become a sort of cultural phenomenon. I have seen many people who would just walk around and hang out with their friends rather than shop. Also, I believe that many people still hold on to the mentality of being able to try out the products they want before they get. Especially clothing, more people would be willing to go out on Black Friday and try on the clothes they want before buying.
ReplyDeleteI think that while online shopping offers huge benefits, it isn't the same experience as in-person shopping. A customer review can't tell me whether clothes will fit, or whether I will like the new bath and body scent. An online review can tell me Canon's new digital camera is small lightweight and durable- but until I hold it in my hands, my mind can't process what that means. Black Friday gives customers the opportunity to walk into a store, and test and hold the products they are interested in- and then offers them at a steal. cyber Monday might have good prices, but you lose the ability to test the products- that's enough to keep me shopping in stores rather than online.
ReplyDeleteI think you’re right Robert. But, I also think it’s due to our gender. The thing is, my mom, my sister, my girlfriend, my cousins, they all LOVE shopping in general. Granted I am hugely generalizing here, but I think on the whole, when guys shop, we know what we want beforehand (or at least have an idea), we know which store it’s in, we know our size, and we want to be in and out of there as fast as humanly possible. However for women, at least in my experience with them (and the couple of comments), it seems that they enjoy the act of shopping almost as much as buying the clothes themselves. That’s the only way I can logic through the fact I’m sitting in a store for an hour while the GF tries on dress after dress, shorts and shirt, crazy looking I don’t know whats again and again, then finally coming out with nothing. It blows my mind. But back to the cyber Monday idea, this difference accounts for the reason I do most of my shopping online. Because women’s clothes are so eclectic, it’s often hard for them to be able to buy clothes with confidence that it will fit, as many sizing charts differ. But for guys, let’s be honest, you’re either an XL, L, M, or S. It’s pretty simple for us. Our clothes are generally the same (you have your polos and tees, shorts, slacks and jeans) and for the most part, they fit the same from company to company. Thus when I buy clothes online, I am confident that they will fit. I believe the fitting is one of the greater deterrents for some to fight the crowds on Black Friday instead of waiting until Cyber Monday.
ReplyDelete-Patrick Szawara
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ReplyDeleteI've got to agree with Patrick here, Rob. (Insert gender stereotypes here) Girls love shopping and the experience that comes with it, while guys are more prone to either skip it, or be in and out quickly. Refer to the chart, http://www.thecomedynet.com/wp-content/gallery/newimages5/MENWOMENSHOPPINGPICS.jpg . This is really telling of the gender differences that buying of almost anything comes with huge differences in the gender buying process. Instead of alright that shirt looks cool and I'd wear it, there is the whole well what can I wear it with and how does it make me feel when I put it on. That's a huge difference between cyber monday and black friday.
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