TGIBF: Thank God it’s Black Friday
.
November 23, 2009 • Robyn Hurley, Guest Contributor
Filed under 2009-2010
Black Friday is coming! It may sound like a demonic day of worship or some spin off of Friday the 13th when a giant cloud blocks the sun from the earth, but over 50 million Americans participated in the eagerly-anticipated, biggest shopping day of the year in 2008 according to Consumerreport.org. What will this year’s Black Friday turn out be?
There is a negative and positive side to everything and that includes Black Friday’s hot, blockbuster deals. You can either hear the grumpy opinion of a worker who has to get up extra early to compensate for the masses of people stampeding through the doors by 6 a.m. or you can hear the enthusiasm of the happy participants of Black Friday as they score great deals.
Black Friday is 19 year-old Megan Hurley’s favorite holiday; she has been an active participant for the last six years. “It’s been a family tradition to stuff our faces Thanksgiving day, fall asleep early, then get up early and burn off everything we ate the night before by scoring hot deals,” said Hurley.
Stores that have the big deals before 10 a.m. include: JC Penneys, Walmart, Kohls, Macys, Barnes and Noble, American Eagle, Banana Republic, Best Buy, GameStop, Old Navy, Sears, Target, Toys R’ Us and Lowes.
“We generally hit up Walmart first to score some everyday needs, then move on to JC Penneys, which will be the next to open and after that we venture into the malls,” exclaims Hurley.
After last year’s tragic death–when a Walmart employee was trampled to death in Long Island, New York as they opened the doors on Black Friday–Walmart will be opening at 5 a.m. this year, trying to detour a consumer frenzy all at once. Walmart will be the place to go if you’re seeking a variety of options for cheap electronics. Sales will be through the majority of the store all day long. DVDs, video games, TVs (including a special on a 42’ TV for only $448) will probably see the the most action within the first two hours after opening.
A challenge for this year will be how much the economy will affect how much consumers will buy or even shop on Black Friday. According to Walletpop.com this could put a dent in the lavish spending that’s normal on a typical Black Friday, but it won’t stop those determined to get up early to still end up saving a lot of money if they shop smart.
“Well I know that my family is pretty tight on cash right now, which is all the more reason to take advantage of the door-buster sales on Black Friday since we still are going to need to get Christmas gifts. We might as well do it when they’re [prices] marked down. [You should] Have a list of things you really want to look for a deal on and remember that the lines are going to be long the later in the morning it is, so time yourself accordingly depending on how many stores you want to hit. Oh! And keep your recepits!” says Hurley.
A new twist for the 2009 year is to spread the deals of Black Friday using Twitter and Facebook to create twits and postings about a variety of stores. “These are helpful when I can see exactly what I’m up against and as the day gets closer and closer more and more coupons are going up,” advises Hurley.
Black Friday takes places on November 27th this year, the day after Thanksgiving. “I can’t wait! It’s what you make of it, even if you get just one thing the adrenaline rush in the morning is the first step to putting you in the holiday mood,” beams Hurley.
