Around this time of year, the annual tradition of lowering prices is celebrated all over the country. Large crowds surround the malls, outlets, and every store nearby, as buyers dash to get all of the items by the end of the week.
During the last week of November, a seasonal event takes place called “Black Friday”. Shops reduce their prices, and customers dash to every store, as sales increase rapidly. It is usually not celebrated as a marketing gimmick, where the idea came from, but rather as a festive, fun tradition where you purchase items for the holiday season. The tradition is very appealing to Americans in a lot of different ways. For example, it takes place during Thanksgiving week, and Christmas comes around the month after, so people are eager to buy their gifts while they are on sale.
“The first recorded use of the term ‘Black Friday’ was applied not to post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping but to financial crisis,” (History, “What’s the Real History of Black Friday?”), “As the story goes, after an entire year of operating at a loss(in the red) stores would supposedly earn a profit(went into the black) on the day after Thanksgiving, because holiday shoppers blew so much money on discounted merchandise.”
The holiday emerged as a tactic in the late 1800s to attract customers during a time of financial trouble all over the United States. Now, it is celebrated each year by people of all backgrounds, joyfully purchasing from stores, while fulfilling the same commercial goal. Whether or not the prices during Black Friday are factual, or if the attraction of a busy environment is too hectic, many people seem to enjoy it for its bustling, high-speed and exciting nature.
“Black Friday can be really fun, you get to shop for way smaller prices, and it’s kind of exhilarating how everyone’s so busy and frantic to shop for the holidays. I plan on going to the mall with my older sister, and try to look for good deals at our favorite stores,” junior Elaina Kim said, “ I also feel like people don’t look forward to it as much as they used to, and prefer shopping online nowadays.”
Many Champe students celebrate this annual event and take advantage of the sales in different ways. Some may arrive at stores early to prevent having to wait in a line, and some may be going right after Thanksgiving to purchase gifts for their family and friends for Christmas. Black Friday is celebrated by every age group, and it’s interesting to see how they participate in and view this holiday.
“I plan on waking up early and going to my friend’s house, who will drive us to Tysons Corner Mall. Me and my friend are then going to make a list of what we want to buy, and we would stay at the mall for a few hours,” sophomore Jen Dorjdagva said, “To be honest, I like how the prices go down during Black Friday, but I hate how crowded and noisy it gets.”
The majority of the nation plans to shop during Black Friday, but numerous shoppers choose not to. Although this event might seem glorious, and helpful in fulfilling
people’s’ necessary purchases at this time of year, it has its flaws. Some Americans may choose not to participate due to certain conditions caused by Black Friday. The loud, busy atmosphere with bright red ‘on sale’ signs along every shop can be unappealing to some customers.
“16% of holiday shoppers do not plan to participate in Black Friday sales or any Cyber Week shopping at all”, (DriveResearch, “Black Friday Statistics, Trends, & Facts [2024]”), “75% of respondents are planning to shop online this black friday.” The common reason being: there actually aren’t any good deals, or that it becomes too congested due to all the crowds, according to shoppers. Over 180 million Americans shop in stores and online during the week of Black Friday, meaning 29 million people are refraining from it due to these causes. Furthermore, their distrust is due to many thinking that the prices do not actually decrease, and that it is just a visual ploy to get more buyers.
On one hand, people are delighted to treat themselves with these discounts, and see it as a helping hand, while others see it for its origin, that aims to deviate shoppers from the market’s true goal. People’s opinions are always going to have differences, but sometimes, the differences may be so great that they want completely opposite things.
“I don’t participate because the deals just aren’t good, Black Friday almost feels like a scam. For example, 20% off of a $40 product isn’t much of a discount. Sometimes, they don’t reduce their prices at all, but still label it as ‘on sale’,” an anonymous junior said, “During the week of Thanksgiving, even if I won’t be shopping, I will be spending a lot of time with my family. Depending on the person, Black Friday is either a love or hate type of holiday.”
