Posted on 11/23/2012 4:52:10 PM PST by Morgana
Is Black Friday out of control? MOULTRIE, Ga. - Shoppers mobbing stores to find the best Black Friday deals started on Thursday evening this year. Video posted online showed the scene at one store as shoppers rushed a display and grabbed at merchandise.
(Excerpt) Read more at radio.woai.com ...
Walmart had a great deal on a Vizio 60” tv that went on sale at 10pm. I told my wife there was no way I was going to stand in line all day for a tv. We went over around 8pm. The place was a madhouse and the tvs had been spoken for via vouchers for people in line by noon. This isn’t even the best time of the year to buy a tv, much less wait in line all day on your holiday for it.
“Soylent green is people”
[just wait until it’s food they’re fighting for]
When you work till 5pm all the good stuff is already gone. No point even going to a store today. Cyber Monday is for people who have to work during the day.
Why do stores CAUSE chaos then complain about it? If you can sell something for half price one day-why not the whole monthe before? Why not just cut prices permanently? They`d sell everything and not stampedes ! If they can sell stuff so cheaply on Black Friday_why is it so overpriced to begin with? I never take part in social conditioning like this.
The marketing concept of “loss leader” answers all your questions.
Not necessarily. The loss leader concept is that the customer, once in the store will buy other stuff. With chaos like this, shopping would be so uncomfortable most people would not stay and shop. But then again, these are not most people, so maybe they would fight the crowds to shop. I don’t even shop on the first of the month anywhere. I hate crowds.
Nope, not worth it for me. You can probably find a comparable deal somewhere between now and Christmas, anyway.
[just wait until it’s food they’re fighting for]"
And it probably isn't too far in the future, either....
Well, I am with you on avoiding crowds but then again the Black Friday Shopping Animals™ do tend to leave with full shopping bags even if they don’t get the “Big Prize” 55” TV or whatever. Like you say, they are not most people. The couple times I did get up early for Black Friday I either got what I was after and then went home, or didn’t get what I was after and then went home (and back to bed in either case). Back then there were maybe only 20 people in line, not the around the block and then some they have today.
The other reason besides loss leader promotion is positioning relative to other retailers. Each Target, Walmart, Kroger chains, etc., wants the big splashy Black Friday front page on the advertising circular to keep their name in front of potential customers and not lose stature or market share compared to the others. Retailer brand recognition that will, hopefully, stick in the mind. So it isn’t really just a one day thing as far as that is concerned.
But...but...won’t their Messiah feed them?
I hate this time of year.
Every black Friday starts over a whole month of aggravation for me.
This madness will continue until a week after Christmas, non-stop.
When I need to get something from the grocery store [or any other store] there are thousands of these maniacs roaming in herds.
I can’t wait until it’s over.
Yet they’re still dead.
We drove past our local wal mart on Thursday night after family left the Thanksgiving feast. The parking lot was jammed full to the point where people were parking on the street. We kept on driving.
Went by on Friday and it was normal. Went in, got the last few Christmas presents checked off the list, and went home. No fuss, no drama.
But...then again, we’re Country Mice, not City Mice.
I spent the afternoon putting up the tree; I wasn’t even in the mood. I’m just, meh.
I watched my local news last night. They did the mandatory story on Black Friday shoppers. One of the people they talked to was Canesha, a woman (Amish) who started shopping Thanksgiving evening and was still going strong after the sun came up the next morning. She said she spent half the night at Walmart, had to unload her shopping carts three times as they filled up, and had to go from debit to credit to pay for it all.
See that mindset? Bronco Bama just got re-elected, so whoop it up! Clear the shelves, ‘cause he gone pay for it all!
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