Black Friday Takes a Hit From Gray Thursday!
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Black Friday shoppers begin their shopping in the wee hours of Friday morning;
at least that was up until this year.
This year though, if you waited until Black Friday morning, you were too late!
After testing the responses to earlier hours last year, stores such as Wal-Mart, Toy R Us and Target this year opened as early as Thanksgiving evening. With this marketing tactic, it was claimed, it would make it more convenient for the American shoppers who may not spend so freely during the Christmas season.
Therefore, they created two separate waves of shoppers.
Although I understand wanting to save a buck, I just can’t understand what all the hype is about. I just refuse to fall victim to this type of marketing scheme.
Brick-and-mortar stores have seen a major decline in sales in recent years due to the increase of Americans growing more comfortable shopping on websites that offer affordable prices and the convenience of being able to buy anything from cell phones, laptops and tablet computers from just about anywhere they choose. As the decline in sales rise for the brick-and-mortar stores they are pressured to do whatever it takes to lure the people into their stores.
In addition to earlier hours more retailers opened their doors late on Thanksgiving or at midnight on Black Friday. Not only are the retailers expanding their hours, many also are offering free layaways and shipping, matching the cheaper prices of online rivals and updating their mobile shopping apps with more information.
It’s the “dog eat dog” mentality I guess
when it comes to marketing and has been since the beginning of time. Regardless of the outcome over Gray Thursday verses the Black Friday test, I believe the concern on many minds go much deeper.
The concerns of many as well as myself, go beyond Gray Thursday or Black Friday and into the New Year of 2013. Knowing that unless Congress passes a budget deal, we will be faced with higher unemployment, tax increases and spending cuts known as the “fiscal cliff” effective in January 2013. These things weigh heavily on our minds. When I consider the state of our economy, Gray Thursday and Black Friday must take a back seat.
This the year 2012, as like no year before, comes in on the edge of financial disaster for our world, our government, our states and yes, even our own families. With all these things considered, do we really care that much if Black Friday takes a hit from Gray Thursday?
So are the retailers hurting the sales for Black Friday by opening on Gray Thursday?
I guess the results will be in tonight.