Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S., and it also happens to be the biggest pre-holiday shopping day due to the huge sales and discounts. While it is true that the day after Christmas is really chaotic if you go to stores, Black Friday certainly holds it's own in respect to the good and bad that occurs.

 

 

One of the biggest draws of Black Friday is all the pre-holiday sales. People literally line up, sometimes around the block, just to get the very best deal possible. Oftentimes, many of the stores offer specials for the first hundred of so shoppers, and they offer deeper discounts and open earlier.  Unfortunately, not a year goes by where someone isn't tripped, shoved, stomped, trampled, or even gotten into fistfights over merchandise on sale. This Black Friday, I noted that there was a fistfight at the Gurnee Mills mall, and a trampling in a Wal-Mart. Amazing what people will do to get a bargain before it's sold out. Also on Black Friday, many stores have 'giveaways' for shoppers; this year for instance, Costco gave shoppers a free cookbook. Black Friday also brings out the beginning of the holiday 'bell ringers', such as those for Salvation Army. Black Friday seems to announce the beginning of the holiday season, and it's a day many consumers look forward to.

 

 

Overall, Black Friday does bring out the good and the bad (and sometimes the ugly, as in the cases of trampling over a deal). I think this past Black Friday went off really well, and was a pleasant surprise for many businesses due to how low consumer spending has become with the current economy. Every year, Black Friday always is a day that most shoppers look forward to... I just think it's a bit excessive to stomp on someone so I can save an extra 10% on a TV stand; maybe it's just me...

 

 

This rant/rave written by Joe Rosendorf Jr.  This is merely an opinion based on personal experiences, and is intended to inform based on those experiences.