A seasonal thought from The Economist:
"Abolishing Christmas would not make an ounce of difference to retailers. They would simply create a new 'celebration of shopping', such as Black Friday. The sector that would suffer is the food-service industry as Christmas provides the perfect excuse to overindulge in food and drink." - on "How Black Friday hit Britain."
Showing posts with label Black Friday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black Friday. Show all posts
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Monday, November 26, 2012
Black Friday: Now, but never then...
It appears that we have managed to survive Black Friday. It's the moment of epic madness that somehow encourages us to believe that marketers are the only people in the know about curing whatever ails the economy. Even the New York Times felt secure in noting that the "annual shopping spree", played out like a National Football League grudge match, was a sign of "rising consumer optimism".
Good for the consumers, I guess. Even the woman quoted by the Times who said she and her daughter had arrived as early as possible to buy a 96-cent Samsung Galaxy S111 smartphone, which had already been sold, and settled for a 40-inch Sanyo LED TV even though "I didn't even want it."
As for me, I go into denial for wanting "stuff"- as Bill O'Reilly demonized the class beneath his pay scale. With me, it's generational, I suppose, for someone whose ideas were formed in the b.i. era (before such i-things as, say iPads and iPhones) with a first TV set that offered low-definition images that improved slightly if you wrapped a patch of aluminum foil around one of the rabbit ears. Today's newspapers are splashed with i-things to buy with help from the salesperson to tell you what the gadget is without mentioning that it will be obsolete tomorrow.
Here's a sample of my own holiday shopping with my mother:
Having spent my early years in a very small town, the Christmas buying season began in early to mid-December with no discounts until the big after-Christmas sales - and maybe not even then. Not even a fellow named Saloom, a friend of the family, would give us a price break at his modest one-room "department store".
My mother would lead me into the store past a few racks of clothing and shelves filled with boxes.
She advised Saloom that she wanted to buy me a long-sleeved sport shirt that she couldn't put off until after Christmas because it got very cold in December and her son needed a shirt to protect his arms from a chill.
Standing behind the counter, Saloom would turn and scan some boxes on a nearby shelf, grab one, and carefully open it on the counter. It would contain 4 or 5 shirts, which he would with surgical precision gently pull out.
"Here, Helen," he would say, spreading the shirt on the counter and patting down the wrinkles. "This is
a little big for him now. But he is a growing boy, God bless him. He'll grow into it. You'll see."
Satisfied that Saloom was an expert on shirt sizes, she'd buy it over my protests that I didn't like the color.
"Come on"' she tugged at me. "If you still don't like it when you put it on at home, I'll give it to your cousin George for Christmas. He never complains."
Problem solved. As I said, it was a very small town and the stores opened only during regular hours. Nobody got hurt and cousin George would have a long-sleeved sports shirt for Christmas whether he liked it not. My mother knew he would not be a problem.
By the way, were you out in the mix on Cyber Monday?
Good for the consumers, I guess. Even the woman quoted by the Times who said she and her daughter had arrived as early as possible to buy a 96-cent Samsung Galaxy S111 smartphone, which had already been sold, and settled for a 40-inch Sanyo LED TV even though "I didn't even want it."
As for me, I go into denial for wanting "stuff"- as Bill O'Reilly demonized the class beneath his pay scale. With me, it's generational, I suppose, for someone whose ideas were formed in the b.i. era (before such i-things as, say iPads and iPhones) with a first TV set that offered low-definition images that improved slightly if you wrapped a patch of aluminum foil around one of the rabbit ears. Today's newspapers are splashed with i-things to buy with help from the salesperson to tell you what the gadget is without mentioning that it will be obsolete tomorrow.
Here's a sample of my own holiday shopping with my mother:
Having spent my early years in a very small town, the Christmas buying season began in early to mid-December with no discounts until the big after-Christmas sales - and maybe not even then. Not even a fellow named Saloom, a friend of the family, would give us a price break at his modest one-room "department store".
My mother would lead me into the store past a few racks of clothing and shelves filled with boxes.
She advised Saloom that she wanted to buy me a long-sleeved sport shirt that she couldn't put off until after Christmas because it got very cold in December and her son needed a shirt to protect his arms from a chill.
Standing behind the counter, Saloom would turn and scan some boxes on a nearby shelf, grab one, and carefully open it on the counter. It would contain 4 or 5 shirts, which he would with surgical precision gently pull out.
"Here, Helen," he would say, spreading the shirt on the counter and patting down the wrinkles. "This is
a little big for him now. But he is a growing boy, God bless him. He'll grow into it. You'll see."
Satisfied that Saloom was an expert on shirt sizes, she'd buy it over my protests that I didn't like the color.
"Come on"' she tugged at me. "If you still don't like it when you put it on at home, I'll give it to your cousin George for Christmas. He never complains."
Problem solved. As I said, it was a very small town and the stores opened only during regular hours. Nobody got hurt and cousin George would have a long-sleeved sports shirt for Christmas whether he liked it not. My mother knew he would not be a problem.
By the way, were you out in the mix on Cyber Monday?
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Black Friday: Learning from voter restrictions
With the growing reports of fanatic bargain hunters camping out at electronics stores a week before Black Friday, a couple of close family members are urging Secretary of State Jon Husted to invoke his early voting restrictions on early shopping. I couldn't persuade them that bargains being what they are supposed to be on Black Friday, there was little that Husted could do to prevent people from being maimed when the doors open. Besides, his track record with early things is not that encouraging, particularly since Ohio went to Obama anyway.
Anyway, Nancy handed me a list of things that might work, and I'm dutifully prudent enough in a family situation to forward some of them to you, to wit:
Got that, Mr. Husted?
Anyway, Nancy handed me a list of things that might work, and I'm dutifully prudent enough in a family situation to forward some of them to you, to wit:
Restrict early shopping on the week end before Christmas.
MasterCard or Visa can only be used if the sun is shining on a shopping day.
Gift cards for restaurants will require photo ID's and cannot be used for the purchase of Mexican foods or stuffed grape leaves and other ethnic foods ordered by strange-looking people.
All mall stores must purge their lists of credit card holders.
Any shopper errors in signing for charges will invalidate sales and three lawyers and a police officer must appear with the buyer to advise him or her of their rights.
BestBuy credit cards can only be used on weekdays and never on Sundays unless the computer buyer is accompanied by a teenager.
Require all early shoppers to identify the president of Uzbekistan.
Finally, under penalty of self deportation, swear that you have never been convicted of shopper fraud, knocking down senior citizens in line or comparative shopping at Sam's Club.
Got that, Mr. Husted?
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