Sometimes, it’s best to simply say what you feel. Black Friday is a horrible idea, as evidenced by the needless amount of waste generated, the almost mind-control-like rushing of consumers to the stores and even the actual deaths associated with crowds attempting to get into stores on the big day. Then, as though that weren’t bad enough, Cyber Monday was added. That day allowed Americans to spend even more money on more items they didn’t need with huge online discounts. However, two days was not enough, apparently. Now, Black Friday has turned into a week-long event with most stores advertising that their Black Friday prices now begin on Monday.
Before you say it, yes, we know that many of these stores have claimed that this is a way to avoid the unfortunate (and frankly unbelievable) deaths due to Black Friday rushes. But nobody writing for or reading the Postconsumers blog is that naïve. The primary purpose of extending Black Friday to a week-long event is simply to sell more.
You see, it is a recession, and retailers are feeling it and also relying heavily on their holiday revenue. While Black Friday generates huge sales, it’s also limiting in that it’s a one day event. Some people don’t want to come out on Black Friday. Some people don’t impulse shop as much. Some people, frankly, if given the opportunity, just want to use the extra week as a reason to shop more.
We are not anti-shopping here. We’re not even anti-holiday shopping. We feel strongly that each person has to find their own personal comfort level with consumerism. But we are anti-taking advantage of American consumers. While the initial response to Black Friday being extended for an entire week can easily be construed as an advantage in that it allows people to save money for longer periods of time, it’s important to keep in mind what’s actually happening here. One of the most glorified consumer events, one which already encourages unnecessary spending and purchasing, is turning into a week-long event. To us, Black Friday being turned into a week-long event is almost more concerning than the entire holiday shopping season being turned into a two-month event.
We certainly encourage you to take advantage of any sales on items that you need (or just really want) this holiday Black Friday week. But we encourage you even more to do it while being aware that this week-long phenomenon is worsening the consumer culture of America. That, in short, just really isn’t a good thing!
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