Don't Shop On Thanksgiving
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 11/26/2015 1:00:00 AM
Do I really need to write about this?
One of the great things about Thanksgiving Day is that it was always one of the few days of the year where most people had the day off specifically to spend time with their families and give thanks. It's pretty amazing when you think of it, a day set aside to simply pause... and reflect.
Somewhere along the way things changed. I think the trend started in the 90s, when the media started to draw attention to the fact that retailers considered the next day to be a turning point in their sales, the day they started to turn a profit and hence "Black Friday" was born.
Year after year, the hype over "Black Friday" grew in the media, as stories of early morning shoppers stampeding into stores at 6am to get their hands on deep discounted "Doorbusters" before they run out. As the hype grew, retailers increased the stakes by opening earlier and earlier... first 6am, then 5am... and earlier. The only way anyone could compete with it was to open at midnight.
Once they started opening at midnight, the barrier was broken. Although it was midnight, it was Thanksgiving, and that meant that the only way to top it was to be open even earlier.
What's the point? Do they really need to open on Thanksgiving? Don't they realize how unfair it is to ask the staff to leave their families so they can run their cash registers?
The problem with all these Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday sales is that it not only diminishes the holiday itself, but it takes advantage of consumers who think it's their only chance to get one of the "Limited Supply Doorbusters" sold at deep discounts.
Why do retailers want a large group of people looking for a handful of bargains on that specific day? Wouldn't it be better for them to have a steady stream of customers throughout the entire holiday season?
Instead of doorbusters on Thanksgiving or at 4am on Friday, they should simply have fair prices on products they can actually keep in stock. There's no point in building drama over a handful of deep discounted items that are out of stock 4 minutes after the doors open.
Customers who miss out out on the doorbusters walk away disappointed, and they don't really make a profit on them, so what's the point? How does this help their bottom line?
So, stay home on Thanksgiving. If enough people stay home, perhaps next year the stores will give their staff (and customers) the day off.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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