Posted on 11/25/2011 5:36:23 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Despite a lagging economy and high unemployment rates, retailers are reporting this year is one of the best for sales, with 152 million shoppers expected to hit stores this Black Friday.
Early reports suggest that bigger crowds were found at the nation's malls and stores as retailers like Macy’s and Target opened their doors at Midnight.
It what seems to be a burgeoning Black Friday tradition, reports of violence erupted throughout the country....
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Nope. She took out her competition, got her XBox for dirt cheap, and got away.
Symptom of a banana republic.
The potential for being a victim on Black Friday is a small price to pay to get some cheap foreign made crap that you probably don’t even need.
I must be tired. I read the headline & thought “Gee, I should post that on FR”. Then I realized I was reading it on FR. And no, I’m not tired from shopping. I actually worked today.
This is good news. Someone posted somewhere earlier they heard sales were way down.
lol
Obviously personal observations aren’t always accurate, but, I was out today for a few minutes and noticed traffic was light and parking lots were somewhat empty. Not too much going on. There seemed to be maybe a few extra people out and about but nothing like I have seen in prior years. The only store I went to was Target (side note: They had ALL the registered opened, so kudos to Target for that.) and there were a few people there over normal but it seemed much less than usual for Black Friday. The weather was great and sunny out but there just wasn’t the people usually seen this time of year.
Like a bunch of hausfraus scuffling today at Wal-mart over $2.99 wafflemakers?
It reminds me of a scene in the book `1984’—same thing but over cheap pots.
You are a brave person, too many crazy people for me. I will wait & shop locally in our safe little burg tomorrow1
You are a brave person, too many crazy people for me. I will wait & shop locally in our safe little burg tomorrow!
I thought of driving to Best Buy to get an ASUS tablet at an attractive price, before remembering that I don’t need a fracking tablet. I dropped a Prozac tablet instead.
Symptom of a Capitalistic society. I am thrilled that it appears people are spending again. That is good for the economy and we need it to improve.
There’s no good news in this story because there’s no new information. “Sales soar”? Based on what, AP? Fat women killing themselves to hoard $2 waffle makers?
The 152 million expected shoppers is what they’ve been reporting all week. It’s an estimate based on extended hours and the hopes and wishes of the National Retail Federation. The story on Drudge says there were disproportionate numbers of teenagers out cruising the shops and malls. When you consider that teens have an astronomical unemployment rate, no credit and their parents have less disposable income than they’ve had in a generation, that’s a horrible sign. Chances are pretty good the yutes lifted more than they bought.
Not to mention loss-leader pricing doesn’t stimulate add-on sales in an economy like this. The zero-margin LCDs cost WalMart money to sell if they’re not selling HDMI cables and wall mounts to go with them. What the retailers sold doesn’t matter. It’s how much profit they made.
We won’t know anything until early next week, but I’m guessing the numbers that actually matter are going to be dismal. Although I’m sure that the AP will find a way to spin a happy face on them.
Could be because Target opened at 9 the previous night and had sales throughout the evening til the morning. I am sure that if it was sunny out most people were finished and back home. Of course it depends of your location too. If you are in a depressed area than people may not have money to spend. I can accurately tell you that Annapolis MD where I live was busy as heck. Cars everywhere. Spending galore. It is good for Annapolis for sure.
I went to WalMart last night for a $280 tree on sale for $128. There were people there, but I was in and out and home with my tree inside of 20 minutes.
Two years ago, I tried to get a laptop at the same WalMart and I couldn’t get in the front door.
Shopping at Target at 3 in the morning is not a sign of a ‘capitalistic’ society. It’s the act of extreme bargain hunting fueled by economic uncertainty. Nothing to do with capitalism (which if the government got out of the way would right itself faster than any other kind of market). They did this kind of behavior in eastern bloc countries, all but for different reasons (scarcity) but it was still anxiety and uncertainty that drove it.
I didn’t know they did this type of thing in Eastern Block countries. So they would open up 24 hours and put things on sale and people would run to the stores and buy things? That is interesting. I wonder if they had any success? Well actually I guess not since they were destroyed economically.
” If you are in a depressed area than people may not have money to spend. “
I’m in Denver and we have a great economy outside of construction.
” So they would open up 24 hours and put things on sale and people would run to the stores and buy things?”
I am sure you are old enough to know that they would have limited items for sale so people did get to the stores as soon as they opened to buy out what was available. Seems very similar to me what happens for Black Friday sales. I think the analogy is valid.
Retailers announced this year that More Americans spent more money than at any other time in history this BF. (Spent more on beer and toilet paper.)
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