{delve} Shoppers wait in line to purchase discounted shoes at Macy's in Costa Mesa, Calif. on the morning of Black Friday. Macy's opened at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving and 7 a.m. on Black Friday.
photo by MCT Campus
Give thanks, then go shopping As the Black Friday tradition shifts into Thursday, students still find bargains By Erin Rowland
T
delve editor
o many, it marks the beginning of “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” After a delicious Thanksgiving feast with family, millions of people leave their homes at odd hours of the night, hoping to score great deals on everything from TVs and computers to boots and coats. Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, is a holiday tradition for Americans everywhere. Junior Ashley Marlo has worked at Rue 21 since August and worked her first Black Friday this year after having shopped on Black Friday in years past. “Since I started working in retail, my Black Friday traditions have stopped,” Marlo said. According to CNN, in 2012 307 million people, or one in three adults, braved the large crowds of rowdy shoppers at stores opening anywhere from eight on Thanksgiving night to four in the morning the next day. Since Black Friday began, stores have been opening earlier and earlier in hopes of attracting more customers and beating their competition.
“I think it’s unfair, especially to people who work on Thanksgiving. I had to start work at seven, and it took away time from my family,” Marlo said. Marlo used to go Black Friday shopping, but she realized there wasn’t really a benefit to it. “I think the lines are ridiculous. I don’t think it’s worth it. I never get anything good; I always end up buying things for myself,” Marlo said. Senior Julie Groeblinghoff disagrees. She has a tradition of Black Friday shopping with a friend every year. “On Thanksgiving this past year, I was with my family until eight, and then I got ready and went out because the stores opened so early,” Groeblinghoff said. Groeblinghoff is unhappy with how more stores are opening earlier on Thanksgiving. “You could have the whole evening with your family, then you would get ready and then go out,” Groeblinghoff said. Many stores opened earlier with the hope of getting more customers into the store by being open longer and offering better deals.
“I don’t think they’re going to make any more money than they already do because more people are going to come, but then less people will come on actual Black Friday,” Groeblinghoff said. Another way stores are trying to earn more money on the major shopping day is by offering online deals that are comparable to their instore offers. The Monday following Black Friday has become known as Cyber Monday. Online Black Friday shopping has also increased dramatically in the past few years. In 2012, 41 percent of Thanksgiving weekend shopping was done online, according to CNN. The 2013 estimate was 51 percent. Senior Kyle O’Keefe was an online shopper this year. “In an era where everyone is lazy, it just saves everyone time when they can plop down in front of a computer and load one web page,” O’Keefe said. O’Keefe has never been an in-store shopper and definitely sees more benefits in doing his shopping online. “By basic economics, the prices aren’t actually dropped that much; they aren’t
actually that great of a deal,” O’Keefe said. O’Keefe used his shopping to buy Christmas presents this year. Most of the deals he got were similar to those offered in the stores, if not better. He sees online shopping as an easier alternative to facing the massive crowds. “It’s not worth fighting through a sea of people, with only a minute chance of actually getting the item,” O’Keefe said. But online shopping is just one new frontier for stores to explore. Retailers will continue to search for ways to beat their competition. However, it is unclear if opening earlier is the best solution. “I don’t think it’s profitable if they keep opening earlier and earlier, because I know that when we opened at six, people didn’t start showing up till 10,” Marlo said. And Marlo may be right. According to Bloomburg, this year was the first since 2009 to see a Black Friday Weekend spending decrease. This puts more pressure on stores to find other ways to draw in customers and make large profit on the most important shopping day of the year.
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