BLACK FRIDAY
Nick Knoke
As November starts to come to an end, the temperatures start to get colder, and the white girls bring out their Ugg boots, everybody has the holidays creeping into their heads. Not Thanksgiving or Christmas but Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving has become known for people to camp overnight outside of stores just so they can get up at 5 A.M. and trample someone for the newest gaming console of pair of Beats By Dre. The only question is, how are businesses making money if they are offering such crazy deals to people. The answer is, when people come into the stores to get good deals, they see items that they like better or think are nicer and instead of just getting the original item, they end up buying more than they wanted.
Another way that companies rope people in is by all the advertizing that they put out on television and social media. They try to get people interested in the cheap items then once they get into the store, they feel rushes by the thousands of other shoppers so they just go around and get “deals” on things they don't need. Black Friday grabs the attention of so many people that last year alone had about 90 million shoppers. The average person spent about $400.00 on this day alone. This sudden surge of money re entering the market would cause a peak in business profits. Last year, Black Friday pulled in an estimated $592.6 billion which is just proof that the businesses know how to take advantage of the demand for Christmas gifts.
Black Friday is almost the exact opposite of Thanksgiving because people go from being thankful for what they have to stopping on people in order to get something that they don't have. Although it may not seem very good, it brings in a lot of revenue which helps our economy flow. By buying things that people don't really need, they put more money back into the system which can be used to pay other people who in turn spend their money on things that will help others. It is all one big circle and although many people might think Black Friday is dumb or a waste of time, it helps money stay moving through our economy.
Works Cited
"Black Friday Shopping Impacts Economy."Grand Valley Lanthorn ::. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <http://www.lanthorn.com/article/2013/12/black-friday-shopping-impacts-economy>.
Elliott, Stuart. "Retailers Like Lowe’s Are Getting a Jump on the Holidays." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/30/business/media/retailers-like-lowes-are-getting-a-jump-on-the-holidays.html?_r=0>.
"What Are The Economics Behind The Black Friday Sales?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/11/27/what-are-the-economics-behind-the-black-friday-sales/>.
"3 Reasons Why Black Friday Sales Aren't So Jolly." About. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <http://useconomy.about.com/od/demand/f/Black_Friday.htm>.
Hi Nick !
ReplyDeleteI agree that Black Friday is a little over the top and unnecessary. But for those who like to wait outside in the cold for hours and spend money on things they don’t need to help the economy. So be it. I would’ve been interesting to elaborate on the specific types of people that spend their money on Black Friday though (high-income? race?). All in all, it was a good topic to write about seen as that Black Friday is next week.
This is a very good point! I, myself, go Black Friday shopping because like you said, the stores have great deals on the things I want. The amount of money brought in by this "Holiday" event, is outstanding and huge! The impact this has on our economy is way over the head because it bring in so much. And with new toys and fun items coming out every year, the amount of money that Black Friday will bring in will increase. Only because of the new products and everyone wants them.
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday is always a benefit one way or another. Whether it's finding a deal on something that you want, or benefiting the economy. It's always a crazy time of year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I do agree that people go from being thankful to the next moment trampling someone for the next up to date object they want. Black Friday is a good example to show that companies will advertise wherever they can, in order to bring revenue back into the store. It's a day where people are brought into stores, and find more things than they originally want, and end up spending more money than their original budget. So this day is one day, that helps the economy out, and benefit others while they are shopping.
ReplyDeleteNice job Nick, I think that the black Friday shopping is something that became so big that now, its more of a tradition when it come to this day. This day then brings in a lot of business for people and like you said, brings the business to a peak. Depending on the material that the things are made it also brings up the GDP of America. Overall, I believe that black Friday is a day when business increase and the economy enriches.
ReplyDeleteI can’t believe that Thanksgiving is one week away. Which means that the day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday. As the companys lower down their prices there is a higher demand for the goods. This is going to cause a peak in the business profits which are going to help our economy grow. I never would have thought about business making big amounts of profits when lowering prices. This is because people are willing to spend more money on items that they did want or need. This is because they saw the deal and thought that they would benefit from the deal. It is amazing to see how much one day can help grow our economy.
ReplyDeleteNick, I think that this is a very interesting blog post, and agree that there are many benefits to Black Friday. Although there are many complaints today about this day, some including that it takes away from the purpose of Thanksgiving, if Black Friday were to ever stop existing, a large amount of revenue in America’s economy would be lost. From an economic standpoint, Black Friday is one of the most important annual events that increase the GDP of the nation. Obviously many of the products purchased by Americans are produced in America; therefore, buying more and more of these products can only benefit the flow of the economy. I know I can’t wait to get out and purchase my new laptop on black Friday, and am sure many other people are looking forward to this day as well.
ReplyDeleteGreat writing, it is very relevant to upcoming holidays. I agree that Black Friday greatly stimulates the economy by allowing businesses to optimize their profits. Furthermore, the people shopping wait all year for Black Friday in order to save the most money. Overall, Black Friday is good for everyone, the businesses benefit by the substantial cash flow and citizens benefit by saving a little money. Therefore, everybody comes out happy.
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday has always been something I've never really enjoyed because it happens to be the day after Thanksgiving. Now it bothers me even more as stores start opening for Black Friday on Thanksgiving. However, it is really good for the economy and it is a good strategy by the store to help bring in money before the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteI am an avid Black Friday shopper myself and I know the exact trap that millions of American's fall into while shopping; buying what they don't need. In fact many store are open and don't have that great of deals. Like pink for example each year they have a few items on sale but the majority of their store is still full price. Yet, consumers still feel the need to go get these few sale items, but the store implements a free tote bag if your purchase reaches $75 so the consumers feel obligated to buy more and more until they reach this deal, thus stocking up on items they don't need. I think that Black Friday is a genius idea and really benefits the economy because the hype and frenzy excite the consumers of America.
ReplyDeleteIt's ironic that Black Friday is the day after, and now even taking over, a day dedicated to giving thanks for what we have. While these deals can trick buyers into thinking that they are saving money by spending more money on things they don't really need, this happens all year round as well. People will go to the store for one thing and realize how many other things they realize they forgot they "need" and thanks to great advertising, a huge part of Black Friday, end up buying other stuff anyways and Black Friday is really just a bigger version of this effect.
ReplyDeleteYou raise a good point about people buy more things than expected when feeling the rush of other shoppers but you say that these are things people do not really need when in fact the whole point of this day is to buy gifts for others. While many (teenagers) use the day to buy the new Xbox console for themselves many adults use this day to actually get great deals on gifts for others. I think the thing that ropes people besides the great deals is the adrenaline rush they feel as they get swarmed by thousands of other shoppers. The great feeling of grabbing the last pair of yoga pants on sale is like winning the Stanley Cup to some, and for the businesses they create a great deal of revenue. I think the biggest benefits of Black Friday for businesses is that they can price up their goods nice and high all year round because no matter what they will be making a ton of cash when Black Friday roles around and they mark down these prices. This would be especially good for Monopolies or oligopolies because the public has no where else to go all year round.
ReplyDeleteNick, I really enjoyed reading your blog post considering black Friday is just around the corner. I definatly agree that there are many goods and bads to a day devoted simply to spending money. There is no denying that black Friday is the biggest spending day in the country, but like you said, it's sad how quick people transition from being thankful for what they have, to trampling over people to get what they want. In my opinion, Black Friday is a waste of time and there's much better ways our time and money could be spent. Awesome topic relevant to the time of year, great job!
ReplyDeleteYou bring some very good points to the table, I believe it to be true that people go into stores planning on buying one thing and then end up loading the cart. Although I also wonder, do stores markup the items people will want in hopes of them assuming it is the best deal out there. This seems like something the larger stores will do in order to compensate for the losses they are taking on the sales items. However, I don’t know if this is true, it is just my theory.
ReplyDeleteNick, good topic to write about since Black Friday is around the corner. Personally, I've never been Black Friday shopping and neither have my parents, but I see it as a day of chaotic stampedes of people pushing and shoving over items that aren't so important... Yes, it makes sense that these people want to buy items that are cheaper than regular prices to get the best gift, but buying more items could lead to an overall day of spending more than usual, which you bring up. I know this day is meant for the market, so maybe you should have mentioned some history to it since it relates to economics. Overall, you bring up some good points and good job!
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is very relevant to this time of year as people are already trying to scope out the best deals. For some Black Friday can be a very controversial holiday as it takes away from Thanksgiving a time for recognizing what we are thankful for and replaces it with greed. However, I do agree the revenue that is brought in is essential to the business cycle and the health of the economy. There would be devastating effects on the GDP if this day was removed. Overall this article showed the pros and cons of Black Friday well.
ReplyDeleteFor my family and I, Black Friday is a huge event, however I wouldn’t say that it trumps the main holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. We love this day so much because it is right before winter, so we are able to buy Christmas gifts at half the typical price and stock up on winter necessities such as jackets and boots. It would appear that Black Friday is a win win situation, companies make a huge profit and consumers are able to purchase items they need for a lower price. This holiday positively impacts the economy because millions of dollars are spent buying goods from companies due to the massive demand for good deals.
ReplyDeleteIt’s great that Black Friday stimulates the economy, but recently I feel people have been taking it a little too far. Just like Christmas, Black Friday has started to overshadow Thanksgiving. I understand that people save up their money and only buy their holiday gifts on Black Friday but some people are getting to overzealous about Black Friday. Seven people were killed last year because of the rush for the Black Friday sales, and ninety more were injured. Yes, Black Friday benefits both consumers and businesses but is it really that great of a benefit to over look the people that were killed?
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting that on Thanksgiving you give thanks for the things you have, then the next day on Black Friday, you go out binging on things you don't have. It's pretty interesting how things turn out. Although it does sound bad, there's no question that Black Friday is good for the economy. It is unfortunate that the reason businesses make such big profits, is because consumers get suckered into buying things they don't need. It is their fault that though. You can't shop on Black Friday without a game plan!
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts Brooke!
DeleteBlack Friday is a great day for both businesses and customers. Although it would seem logical to do this every day and attract shoppers all the time, this is not the case because you would see a decrease in the inflow of customers per day because it is not an unusual occurrence. With this being a "special day", most people want to take advantage of this and grab the great deals available to them for only a limited time. This is also the core reason why the shamrock shake at McDonalds and other favorites pull in so much cash for businesses is because of their limited time offer. In total, Black Friday benefits both shoppers and businesses and enhances economy with the enormous profits being made.
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday in retail stores are very similar to fast food restaurants. On Black Friday, companies advertise the big ticket item such as the newest phone or the big T.V. knowing that they can stock their stores with huge numbers of this item and still sell out. Fast food restaurants do the same thing with the value meal. One meal is given a discount on that day as a special and then everyone buys that certain food item. The fast food companies do not have to worry about wasting food in this case because even though they have many of that meal in stock, they know that they will sell out that day anyway. This is an effective strategy for companies to use to make a profit.
ReplyDeleteNick, Black Friday is no doubt a huge economic and social event, and it gets people spending millions of dollars.To me, wouldn't it make sense for businesses to have multiple Black Friday like events a year if it brings in that much money? That way the corporations would make even more money. Also, it is interesting to see that the opportunity cost of this event, standing in line and camping out, trumps spending time with family and relaxing for many people. Clearly, saving a few bucks is more important than celebrating the Holiday. Either way Black Friday is clearly a lucrative event for businesses, and one that remains quite popular.
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday is crazy, and your passage really helps explain why. The rush and pressure make people do crazy things such as tramping others to get what they want. You even talked about the sellers, and pointed out that they make huge profits on this one day, thus implying that companies may not want to put more effort into making this day more organized to avoid accidents.
ReplyDeleteWhen any company runs a sale of any kind, the average amount of consumers that come to the store daily increases as they all want to catch the deal before it expires. This is the same idea that Black Friday has -- there is a sale on one item or many, therefore increasing the amount of consumers. Just like it is with working where if one makes more money but works less hours it evens out as if one makes less money but works more hours, Black Friday is very similar as consumers buy more products but for a lower or equal price, so the economy can benefit from the holiday with either producing more or making more money. Although Black Friday can have its downfalls like the craziness of the consumers, its benefits far outway the chaos.
ReplyDeleteHey Nick! I really thought that you did a great job on this piece, I especially enjoyed the excerpt about white girls in their Uggs. However I believe that Black Friday has become a bit ridiculous, last year when trying to get GTA5 for my brothers, a grown man punched me right in the face. I get the idea that Black Friday generates a lot of money for the United States and companies but it has become quite out of hand. Companies are even holding sales on Thanksgiving this year. Thanksgiving! A holiday supposed to be spent with your family and loved ones is now going to be spent in a line at Walmart. Black Friday has now become profitable but despicable in and of itself.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to learn just how much money is spent in the US economy on this "Holiday"... Me and my family have participated in the past and its so true that companies get you to come in and you ultimately end up spending more on pointless things where youre probably only saving a few bucks. All in all I think Black friday has become way to big as it just goes to show how focused our generation is on things like this as compared to what really matters like the holidays.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good topic to focus on because we often times forget what Thanksgiving is all about, although we are usually buying things for others on Christmas, we do see deals that interest us and give in to being selfish. Uggs don't go on sale for Black Friday by the way. Anyways this is a huge event that actually benefits from the selfishness we have as Americans, because it brings so much money flow back into the economy, while the months previous have a low money flow due to saving for the holidays. Everybody should focus on what is important for the holidays of course, but the selfishness is beneficial for the economy.
ReplyDeleteI think that Black Friday is just ridiculous. Personally, I much would rather pay the full price for a product than camp out over night to save a few bucks. Although I do see how this day could spike businesses profits, I do not think that it saves customers that much money. I think it's all a ploy and an illusion, making people think they are saving big bucks when really they aren't. I think that black friday should not be such a big phenomenon. It takes away from Thanksgiving and causes so much chaos nationwide. I personally do not give businesses my money on this day.
ReplyDeleteNick, this was very interesting to read about just how much money black Friday brings in. It was also interesting to see how businesses make money by offering such good deals and you made a very good point about it. Overall black friday makes for a very cool and interesting topic
ReplyDeleteIt was surprising to see how much money is actually being spent in the economy during Black Friday shopping, which you said was $592.6 billion. I have never been Black Friday Shopping, but I could see how companies make the buyers spend more money on pointless products that really make the buyer spend more money than originally intended. Overall though the revenue brought in from Black Friday is extremely high, however it demonstrates how focused our nation is on spending money in which they don't even realize ultimately how much they are even spending.
ReplyDeleteI know from personal experience that Black Friday is probably one of the most hectic days in a year, most of the day people are running around trying to get all the deals. My family doesn't get things we don't need at a later time so not much money is spent. As the article said, the average person spends $400 on this day, which is pretty crazy since most people would go to the same store and spend a fifth of that on a normal day. That shows that there's a lot of unnecessary things bought, also as the article said. But, that doesn't stop people from trampling on others to get the best deal on something.
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday has turned into something that cuts people's Thanksgiving dinners short considering that most stores open at 5/6pm Thanksgiving day. I think it does bring a lot of money back into the economy, but I am not too crazy about it personally considering the amount of effort needed to fight people throughout the stores for items. The economy does make so much money because people buy unnecessary items that they weren't planning on buying when they entered the store. I think Black Friday has just gotten out of hand with stores opening during a time where families should be thankful together.
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday certainly is a riveting time for both business and customers. The 24 or so hours of unrivaled discounts clearly bring in millions of shoppers, as the increased buying power of consumers illustrates an income effect that increases the demand for such products. In addition, consumers’ expectations for the prices of these products to increase a day later compel these ambitious shoppers to rush in and buy as many items as they can reasonably afford. I would imagine that despite the incredibly lower prices, firms are still able to realize comfortable profits, as they continue to offer even greater discounts year after year.
ReplyDeleteNick, your post raises some overall good points about retail sales and consumption. Economically, it makes sense that consumers will buy the most when prices are low, and like you point out, the demand, especially at Black Friday doorbuster is high. Even though I personally haven’t ever been out Black Friday shopping, I am curious as to just to how many people stick to their budget or go over budget, accrue more debt on their credit cards, etc. I understand how especially for retailers, the holiday season is probably where they make most of their revenue. Even though Thanksgiving is probably the most American culture besides Fourth of July, I think that Black Friday shopping is just becoming more and more a part of our culture.
ReplyDeleteNick, your writing was fantastic and it almost made me tear up. In fact the kid next to me just turned to me and asked "Dude, are you ok?". And of course I am, those were tears of happiness from reading such a delightful blog post on Black Friday. I see Black Friday as something similar to a raid in Clash Of Clans. There is high reward but also some undeniable risk. On Black Friday there may be some deals that aren't exactly deals and you may also have to cut the time with your family down in order to get to shopping early. But you do have a chance at making it big with some nice discounts. It is similar to Clash of Clans in a few ways. In Clash, you raid an enemy despite knowing you will never see those archers and barbarians sacrificed in order to get that loot. The loot is something that people are always trying to get, just like the deals on Black Friday. All in all, I think that Black Friday is good for the economy and Clash of Clans raids are even better.
ReplyDeleteI have both a sister and a cousin who work in retail. This year, neither of them were able to make it to our annual family Thanksgiving dinner due to Black Friday, 12-hour shifts, and while I think it's good to keep money flowing consistently through the economy, Black Friday is *incredibly* unnecessary for anything other than advertising. Millions of families will be short a member or two every year because of this "holiday", sometimes they won't see each other for years at a time if Thanksgiving is the only time they can group together.
ReplyDeleteOn top of that, I was never a fan of people dropping down ten or twelve rungs into "frugal" animals that they can be, with fights and stampedes and thievery and whatnot. It's just personal preference, but I really do hate Black Friday, there are never any deals that are worth going out and risking your neck (and dignity...) for. It's all a little too materialistic. And if this day doesn't say something about the current state of our society, I don't know what does.
Black friday is a great way for people to get gifts for their friends and family. I agree with you that all of these people coming in gives a lot of revenue to all these companies, which then goes back into the economy, then goes make the economy expand and grow. So i see black friday as a positive for everyone looking for a great deal.
ReplyDelete