Is Black Friday Worth It?
By Allison Moysis
Stores are known to offer giveaways and many promotions on Black Friday, but if you read the fine print, many of these giveaways are only valid “while supplies last” or “to the first 50 people.” Some stores have even been known to advertise an item being 50% off, only to have “from 6 am to 7 am” in the fine print. If you are willing to get up very early and wait in lines to be eligible for the giveaways given out to the first few people, Black Friday can be advantageous. However, to the average consumer, Black Friday is not as good as it is advertised to be.
Every year, stores imply that these Black Friday prices are the lowest yet, however a study by Harris Poll discovered that 93% of ads used on Black Friday are the exact same as the year before. This same study also found out that many Black Friday deals are offered at other times of the year. Some retailers increase their prices before Black Friday (around November 1st) to make the deals at Black Friday seem like better offers.
If you are willing to fight the crowds and stand in lines for hours on Black Friday to get your holiday shopping done early, make sure to research promotions beforehand. Ensure that what is advertised as a deal would be considered a deal even at other times of the year, when the original prices aren’t increased. Shopping on Cyber Monday seems safer - since there are no crowds or lines to deal with, but the promotions offered then tend to be the same as those offered on Black Friday.
Works Cited
Amadeo, Kimberly. “How Much Do Americans Spend on Black Friday?” The Balance, The Balance, 25 June 2019, www.thebalance.com/what-is-black-friday-3305710.
Investopedia. “How Thanksgiving and Black Friday Affects Stocks.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 12 Mar. 2019, www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/102714/how-stock-market-affected-thanksgiving-and-black-friday.asp.
Luna, Jennifer. “The Pros and Cons of Shopping on Black Friday.” NerdWallet, 25 Nov. 2015, www.nerdwallet.com/blog/shopping/pros-cons-shopping-black-friday/.
Richter, Felix. “Infographic: The Billion-Dollar Holiday.” Statista Infographics, 21 Nov. 2018, www.statista.com/chart/7045/thanksgiving-weekend-e-commerce-sales/.
Retailers can be really tricky with their strategies this time of year, manipulating the consumers to buy their product since it is such a good deal. But as you said, they do things such as raising the prices beforehand to make it seem cheaper, so the deals aren't actually that extreme. I think that shoppers are too oblivious of these facts and may be taken advantage of during this time, thinking that they are getting better deals than they are actually getting. All in all, people probably spend more money than they would have because they just go binge shopping to get deals.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your standpoint that the deals are not as good as they seem. I remember getting up early last year to go to lululemon and everything was still crazy expensive! I think that a lot of consumers use black friday as an excuse to go holiday or winter shopping. Even though they may know that some of the deals are rigged or they aren't that great, the idea of black friday entices them to spend anyway. Even though prices aren't as good as they may seem, it's still a fun thing that consumers look forward to every year and it's a good way to kick off some Christmas shopping.
ReplyDeleteI’m not a huge Black Friday shopper myself, but I always wonder if I’m missing out on deals. It’s tricky that businesses will raise prices a bit before Black Friday to make it seem like the deals of the weekend are beneficial to the consumer. This manipulation of the consumer is a good business strategy but may hurt buyers in the long run, who won’t have as much money to spend in the coming weeks. I wonder, how much of increased Black Friday sales are due to advertising and not actual price cuts? I also wonder if Black Friday is truly the best time to do holiday shopping or if waiting until after Black Friday or even purchasing gifts way ahead of time is more beneficial to the consumer. As the article mentioned, many businesses have these same deals at different times of the year as well. Is it better to go shopping during these deals where there are fewer people buying? Or better yet, is it easier to make online purchases during Cyber Monday where there’s no waiting in line?
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that all those “amazing deals!” aren’t actually that great. Many times my family will go somewhere at noon on Black Friday and get the same deals that someone got at 5 am and many deals are just tricky. Although Black Friday is more so used as incentive for people to get Christmas shopping done, they aren’t as focused on “is this actually a steal?”. But either way, it’s a great way to get costumers in your door and spending money and kick off the holiday shopping season.
ReplyDeleteI can see why nobody in my family goes to Black Friday because it’s basically getting the most scammer thing ever because sure businesses can say that everything is 50% off on Black Friday but then can raise the price and almost nobody would know so they would be selling it for a better profit than anything else so it would be more beneficial to do your shopping on cyber Monday because with a computer at your hands you can look at what the price it sells for on many different cites and then find the lowest one and then buy it, however if salespeople are raising the price from the original 50% off to 40% off then you can still get that 10% by using the chrome extension honey because it usually will save 10% or more on your total that your spending it for so I would say that cyber Monday and Black Friday would be fine if you were using honey from your computer or phone.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your view that Black Friday deals are not truly as good as they advertise it to be. The marketers who make these deals can be really tricky when it comes down to the fine print. They may put many ads on your television that shows you all this stuff that is half off but in reality it is for the first 50 people or the first 30 minutes. All though we all might get tricked during Black Friday I still think that it is a great time for consumers to spend their money just some deals are not worth it.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this, I thought Black Friday was the best day/weekend to shop for things as a consumer. However, it doesn’t surprise me that Black Friday deals aren’t as good as they are made out to be as the end goal of the store is to bring in revenue. Some deals that stores advertise seem so good that they then bring up the question of, how is the store still making money? It then makes sense that stores sometimes will raise prices before November so the sale seems better than what it actually is.
ReplyDeleteIt is surprising to see the different techniques that store use, in order to make more money. I knew there had been secretly hiding behind black Friday because over the years stores should not be able to make that much profit. Especially when stores promote %50 to even more of a discount. This gave me a really good insight into what actually happens.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is a very intriguing one to say the least at the beginning I thought is this really even a question of course black Friday is worth it but this question has made me sway my answer not to saying no it isn't but to at least questioning the importance of it
ReplyDeleteYour note on how some stores raise their prices a little bit before Black Friday doesn't surprise me. If I'm not mistaken, some companies have actually faced lawsuits about doing just that. I think it was some big name stores too, like Kohls, stores that always have sales. They had to pay big fines for artificially raising their normal prices in order to claim there was a good sale. Interesting topic, and very relevant for this month. Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the deals not actually being that great and the topic is a really good topic. It is nice to know too that when the time is around black Friday they raise the prices to make the sales look even better than they actually are. Now the question that I have is it even worth it to wait until this season to get all your shopping done or is it better to do it throughout the year?
ReplyDeleteI honestly agree with you that the deals aren't that great even though stores might make you think that they are, and with that what you said about the stores raising their prices to make items seem like better deals than they would be on any other day of the week
ReplyDeleteEven though I have never really gone black Friday shopping it is really interesting to see all the different techniques that the stores use to gain more customers and make more money. When looking at the deals that the stores have and thinking about it is really isn’t the best deal but customers don’t really think and usually just buy. It’s crazy to think all the countomers will do just to get what they want. It will be interesting to see how black Friday will turn out in the next couple of years.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very fitting article considering Black Friday is coming up quickly. It was interesting reading about all of the tricks that stores try to play on you, and I think I will be much more aware this year. The tricks kind of remind me of Khols because their products are almost always on "sale", meaning the original price is outrageous and the discounted price is average. This is an interesting tactic because I know when my stepmom comes and my dad asks her how much she spent, she always tells him how much she saved first before telling him how much she spent. I also think that stores shouldn't be allowed to lie in their advertising like how this post said most stores that say this sale is the biggest ever have the same size sale as the year before. It sounds like a lot of people are getting cheated, and from a customer standpoint, I am against this.
ReplyDeleteI do have to say that I have never participated in Black Friday. But it is had made me think maybe I should because of the sales. Then I end up seeing crazy video of Christmas shopping moms trying to get the a TV for her kids, and think to myself I am glad I did not do that. Like you had mentioned in your post that these sales do also happen at other times of the year, typically. That makes me feel better to know that I am not misses out on that much. There has been so much that have evolved throughout the years,such as Small business Saturday, or Cyber Monday. It is interesting to know that all of these 'sales' are just going to increase the profits of the business, and not even save consumers that much. Great article that does not make me regret staying in and avoiding the crazy.
ReplyDeleteDoing in depth research on the items you are planning to buy during Black Friday is a great idea to find out whether or not spending hours waiting in line to buy something is even worth it. Especially if you could just buy the same product at a different time of the year for the same price. Do the research and find out where you should go to shop and what would be worth the wait times.
ReplyDeleteI can see how retailers are trying to make it seem like Black Friday is going to give us as consumers the best deal by saving us hundreds of dollars on expensive products. It was actually surprising to see how consumers tend to spend over $1000 a year during the entire Black Friday weekend when Black Friday is always advertised to consumers as the time to get the best deals this entire year. I have personally never went Black Friday, but have personally always wanted to experience what it is like to shop Black Friday. After looking at all of the statistics about how you are really not saving as much money as it is assume through advertisements and marketing. It could possibly be best to instead either save my money and wait a few weeks to go shopping again, or to instead shop during Cyber Monday instead.
ReplyDeleteI knew there was something fishy about Black Friday, that's why I never go shopping on that day. I think it was great that you pointed out the many ways that stores trick customers like how they greatly increase their price before Black Friday to make it seem like the prices really dropped when they actually haven't. Also, I'm sure many shoppers don't read the fine print and don't get a discount. Also I'm too lazy to go and research the deals to ensure I'm not being ripped off, so shopping on Black Friday isn't a priority.
ReplyDeleteI personally do not go black Friday shopping, but that isn't to say it isn't worth it. I know many friends who go out shopping to get discounts on video games, furniture, and really anything random. The whole week leading up to black Friday is filled with deals on pretty much everything. This week is a great time for kids and teens to save money on their favorite gifts.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really well written article! I like that you added in how much money is spent just because of deals (not things that consumers actually would buy normally). I am not a big shopper myself, but I definitely know how hard it can be to say no to a deal that seems too good to be true. Your article also makes me wonder if and how Black Friday shopping has changed over the years now that we have Cyber Monday, and I wonder how it has affected the economy as a whole since the excessive shopping is a little bit spread out. I thought the fact that 93% of stores reuse previous year ads that say something similar to “this is the best sale yet” was funny because we seem to believe a lot of these ads even though the deals are the same as before and are not usually that great. This is a very relevant article to get us thinking about the coming shopping season. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI really agree with this article because the people who are able to save the most money are the people who don't go black Friday shopping in general. I really liked the article because it showed that the stores rip you off every year by saying its the lowest price ever. As Mr. Reuter says, "I saved 100% over black Friday. I didn't buy anything".
ReplyDeleteI feel like most people think that Black Friday is a steal. The only real deal for the benefits are the companies. The sellers are making way more of a benefit than the people actuallying buying. This is because when Black Friday comes around, everyone likes to spend a huge chunk of their money on clothes and candles and other wants, but sellers are making a lot of money since people are spending so much. I never knew that the average person from November 1st- December 24th spends around $1,000s, which is distributed amongst food, gifts, and other seasonal deals. I think it is kind of weird that stores are lying and saying prices are lower when really they are the same prices from last year. Many younger people don’t understand that Black Friday is a joke and it is a way to advertise “cheaper” products, when really there isn’t a deal.
ReplyDeleteI agree that people spend more on gifts for the holidays. There are so many promotional offers on black Friday which rushes people to stores. I agree that there are crowds that people always want to fight.
ReplyDeleteI personally have never been a huge fan of or a big black Friday shopper. There is nothing that I need that I want to wake up early or stay out all night for. I have only actually gone black Friday shopping once I think and it was not that fun. I think that it is really cool that around the holidays when people have a lot of gifts to buy that there is a big sale. It is nice to gets great deals and I agree with you that it is great for the businesses. But I also agree that the stores do make some of the deals why picky and only for like an hour or for a special amount of time. This makes it a huge rush for shoppers and makes black Friday the chaotic day it is known as. I really don't like the chaos and pushing and running that happens on black Friday. There is nothing we need enough to stay overnight outside a store for. Overall, I think this day is great for getting deals for gifts and for saving some money, but it really just gets people to spend way too much money and the deals aren't worth it.
ReplyDeleteSome of this I do see, but I am someone who loves to start my black Friday shopping right after the Thanksgiving meal, and I have always saved so much money form all of the deals that stores promote. My favorite place to hit on Black Friday is Johnsons Creek, not other are their prices in the outlets cheep because they are outlets, but the prices are even more reduced. Most of then time when I shop, I find that the deals are always pretty decent no matter where I go, and then again on Cyber Monday. Yes sometimes these stores have their sales up until Christmas time, but it's also a fun experience to shop into the late hours of the night when stores are open all night long. Black Friday is always something that I have enjoyed taking part in and I'm really excited to do it this year!.
ReplyDeleteI have only gone black Friday shopping twice. I do agree that you should do research before getting anything. Knowing how much you are actually spending and knowing if it a good deal or not is very important.
ReplyDeleteI find your post to be very interesting considering that I love black friday shopping and just looking at different deals during the black friday sales. Usually I go to johnson's creek and get a whole bunch of stuff from like calvin klein, columbia, the nike outlet and so many other stores. You said that at some stores retailers may up the price before black friday to make it seem like you are getting a deal. I can see that at stores such as khols because all throughout the year they have sales so the sales from stores such as that may not be any different. But for the outlet mall such as johnson creek, I know that not all of their stuff is always on sale. But anyways, I think this post is really relatable to a lot of teens and adults because there is so much money spent on that friday so it is not shocker to me how much it helps the economy
ReplyDeleteI have never been to the mall when there was black Friday. I can see how you could get easily ripped off of the deals without looking at what and when they are good for. Lots of people are probably getting tricked thinking that they are getting a good deal, when in reality they are not, just paying the same prices as the previous years. Some people even camp out to wait for the stores to open which is pretty extreme.
ReplyDeleteAs a fan of Black Friday, I know that I spend way too much money for the deals offered. I know that spending money on gifts is a big thing on Black Friday but it never occurred to me to buy food, I would be looking at the more expensive things like electronics or clothes. I think that their are better deals online on black Friday and it is more efficient to buy the things you like in the comfort of your own home where there are no lines or ya know.. people. Black Friday is also used to socialize with your friends and to create memories, too.
ReplyDeleteBlack friday is a huge and as I work in a store that is open black friday and gives out many promotions it not only helps us with people coming in and spending more money but it also helps other save money on what they buy as in for gifts for others or even shopping for themselves. I think it's stupid that stores open now a days not even on black friday but on like 5 o'clock on thanksgiving, that's taking people away from their families on thanksgiving because they have to work since their deals start sooner. I don't get why they still call it black friday shopping either. I think black friday shopping is a fun activity that everyone looks for and kinda kicks off the holiday shopping times along with the fun of getting up super early to stand in lines with your friends and families to get a deal.
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday sucks and I think you made a good point in explaining that. It isn't special and is really dangerous (look up blackfridaydeathcount.com if you want to see just how dangerous). I just recently left my old restaurant job and transferred to retail. BIG MISTAKE. But I've noticed how we have a lot of good deals already and I assume that our deals won't be any greater for Black Friday, maybe there'll just be more of them. I think it could be really interesting to research how our economy would change if we just got rid of Black Friday in general. I think it'd be safer for employees and costumers alike but would it negatively impact our economy? And what about Christmas? If christmas wasn't so commercialized, would our economy suffer? Again, really interesting and relevant topic.
ReplyDeleteI personally wouldn't stand in lines for hours, stay out late and get up early if it wasn't for black Friday. People would save a lot of money if black Friday didn't exist, every year it seems to be less of a choice and more of a tradition or chore. I also agree lots of stores try to carry black Friday deals longer and longer every year which then makes that actual black Friday, day less eventful.
ReplyDeleteThe whole scam that stores are pulling off is really smart on their part. Although It did seem to good to be true. I know that my mom does all of the Christmas shopping and I get to sleep in. I haven't gone to the stores on black Friday. I don't know if my mom does any research or if she is okay spending the money that she thought she was saving. Another possibility is that she already knows that it is a scam. It is amazing that deals do bring out a lot of people at insane hours. I think it is cool how much humans care for one another and how they want others to be happy before themselves.
ReplyDeleteI have never been that much of a Black Friday shopper, but I have gone as few times. Each of these times that I've gone, I've always wished that the deals were better than they actually were. Additionally, I have heard many times that the deals really aren't that good. Sometimes they are, but most of the time, they are just stores looking to make lots of money off of slightly lowered prices. I think that for me, Black Friday is fun because I get to go shopping early in the morning with my family who are visiting, not because I get a huge clothing haul. I agree that most of the deals are most likely tricks just luring people in to make them buy more from their store.
ReplyDeleteThis post was a very interesting post, I enjoyed reading about it. I'm more of a cyber Monday kind of guy, but what I think would be cool is if you talked about cyber Monday would you think that it would produce more or less revenue? I think if you would've of add this to your post it would make it twice as intriguing than it ready is.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't really surprise me that businesses would do this to trick their buyers but the fact that this has been going on for a while and the public has not done anything different to push sellers to be more legit is also a little surprising. People are fine with being scammed as long as it looks like it's beneficial
ReplyDeleteI don’t think Black Friday is worth it because like you stated, stores will sometimes raise prices before black friday to make the deals seem better when in reality, the deals aren’t that good. You also said that most stores just have the same deal year to year and/or will have the same deal on a different day of the year. I found that insane. Black Friday is supposed to be a day where stores offer really good deals and everyone can get their Christmas/Holiday shopping done, but we can’t get our holiday shopping done if we’re being scammed.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting article to me because I absolutely love going black friday shopping. However, your point and information about the prices being raised before along with the offers being used at different times of the year changes how I think of Black Friday. Usually I think I am getting the best deals ever, but now I know this is, in most cases, false. People don't feel bad spending more than they earn because they are spending for others usually, and the deals make you feel less guilty. Great information.
ReplyDeleteI like getting up early and waiting in line, it's tradition with my dad. So for me it's worth it because I can get those deals for the first couple of people. Looking back on it, the deals are almost not worth it, but I also go because of the tradition of going. But it doesn't surprise me that businesses are tricking their consumers into thinking they are getting the best deals.
ReplyDeleteI think that Black Friday, if done right can actually be really advantageous. I really appreciated the insights to how certain stores can be cheating people out of the deals, however I would say that if people pay attention to the deals they can actually be getting off very well. I know that some stores are different as well and so some of the long lines and large crowds are avoidable for those who do not want to brave the masses. As a consumer and as a sales associate I think that black Friday for the right people is in fact worth it. However, I did appreciate the insight to how some stores are cheating people out of their deals.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to be able to acknowledge the fine print in sales that many people fail to recognize. But even with the fine print i think it's still worth it considering your still getting a very good deal on certain items even if it only for a short amount of time. I also think you needed to acknowledge that online black Friday shopping is pretty big right now to. You don't have to get into fist fights for the doll that your daughter wanted anymore you just go online and buy it. It's also not only helping people save money it's helping business that desperately need to increase their profits get money and stay afloat.
ReplyDeleteI think that Black Friday is still really beneficial to those who would probably spend twice as much on gifts and other products if black Friday were not a thing. Most people will spend money regardless so for there to be deals like black Friday,it can be really helpful to save people big money.
ReplyDeleteI am not a committed Black Friday shopper, but I always like to find the best deal. I wonder if the fact that so many more people shop on Amazon, if that has decreased the amount of revenue coming in from Black Friday shopping? But, it has almost become a whole weekend of deals, starting from the night of Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday. I think this is good to boost the economy and get more people to spend, but what is it costing companies to pay employees to work on a holiday or get to the store so early in the morning, as well as deal with customers fighting over TV's and the crowds that come into stores. I think Black Friday has gotten out of hand and isn't even about finding the best deal anymore.
ReplyDeleteBefore I read this I though black Friday was one of the best ways to save money while getting present and expensive accessories. While I knew that the crowds were bad I never knew that people sometimes only had 1 hour to get the things that they wanted before the deals ended.
ReplyDeleteI think this post is very relevant for high schoolers, as so many teenagers spend a majority of their income on clothing. I never realized that many of the deals that are being advertised as so exclusive are not all that uncommon.
ReplyDeleteI personally enjoy black Friday because it's something different and can be a fun event with friends and family but also didn't know that some stores cheat you out on deals. I found your article really interesting because I didn't know that some stores will increase their prices prior to the sales and then your not actually getting off as much as you would think. This probably does change the way the people view black Friday because deals can be very restricting but that probably isn't going to stop the public from going shopping.
ReplyDeleteWhile Black Friday shopping does often seem like a fun way to get a good deal, I do believe stores manipulate its customers into thinking they are getting a ton of money off even though they are not. Many stores raise the prices and then apply the discount so they are still making a large profit off of what consumers think is some huge sale. However, I do not think this would make Black Friday shopping worthless because you are still getting some money off of the original price, maybe just not as much as you think. It never really occurred to me to really read the fine print of the sale because I typically just see the discount and assume that is all to know about it.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't personally go out shopping on Black Friday, I do know many people who do. I never considered all the sneaky marketing tricks the business use to trick us into spending more. It makes sense though. Those deals are just to good to be true sometimes, so in order to profit from the day, they need to have ways of working around the "discounts."
ReplyDeleteWith black friday, the only reason why many spend a lot of money is because they think they are getting a good deal. It would be interesting to know what percentage of people shop on black friday for gifts and for themselves. Many people see things on sale making them want to buy it. Or they might be shopping for gifts but however they end up seeing a good deal and want to buy it when they might not need it. With black friday there is a lot of impulse buys that many people make.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting as this day is coming up so fast. It's crazy to think about that while you think you're saving money, you might not actually be saving as much as you think. It doesn't surprise me that stores do this type of thing in order to bring in more revenue and make more money off of Black Friday.
ReplyDeleteMy family has always gone “all-out” on black Friday, staying up late and always planning what we’re going to get and where. Due to this, I think your blog post was very interesting and offered a different perspective on this holiday. With Cyber Monday becoming more of a popular holiday, I would like to see the number of people shopping (over the past ten years) on Black Friday and how many people have switched to online shopping. However, Cyber Monday is a great idea it may not be producing as much consumer satisfaction as regular shopping, due to having to pay for shipping and having to wait for it to arrive. Anyways, thank you for making me look at Black Friday differently.
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ReplyDeleteI've always thought Black Friday was a good thing and the deals were authentic. Something that interested me was that some retailers increase their prices before Black Friday to make the deals at Black Friday seem like better offers. I believe that 100%, it makes sense. In 2018, the weekend of Black Friday brought 23.4 billion dollars in revenue. That is great for the economy. Black Friday is definitely taken seriously, but I don't think people realize that the deals might not be as good as advertised.
ReplyDeleteWhen considering whether an opportunity is beneficial or not, you make a good point about how businesses are effected much differently than consumers are. The revenue businesses generate might be insane (you mentioned 23.4 billion dollars for the Black Friday weekend) but at the end of the day, consumers must evaluate what they are willing to give up for a sale. I didn't even think about how businesses might increase their price in November just for the sale to look more appealing on Black Friday. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes and we are naive to think otherwise. Great post!
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