The Pros And Cons Of Black Friday

Would any self-respecting American shopper pass the opportunity to accumulate great items at extremely reduced prices? Of course not! The idea that there are people all around the country who are bold enough to criticize savvy shoppers just for trying to take advantage of great sales is awful. Huge sale events such as Black Friday receive relentless criticism year to year, but for no true reason. Targeted by people who are incapable of worrying about only themselves during the holiday season. Common complaints are that the sale times on Black Friday are getting earlier every year. Although that may be the case, who is really complaining about it? Black Friday shoppers are not doing the complaining about the sale times, the people that do not

Financially speaking, do these Thanksgiving Day shopping opportunities really actually have an impact on retailers ' bottom lines? Does it move retailers out of the red and into the black as Black Friday was intended to begin with? Economists are saying no. Steven Pressman, an economics and finance professor at Monmouth University says that “if a store 's open on Thanksgiving, some consumer will be there. If the store doesn 't open on that Thursday, will that same consumer be there on Friday, Saturday or Sunday? Probably so” (Official News). So how do the consumers feel about Pressman’s comments? They do not feel anything. Consumers are by definition self interested. They are going to buy whatever they want no matter what. If a company cannot manage its financials, that is on the company. Consumers do not participate in Black Friday with the intention to transition a company from the red to the black‒that is merely a secondary

Therefore, employees that do not have two nickels to rub together for Thanksgiving are not enjoying nor encouraging the hectic luxury spending done on Black Friday by fellow consumers. Employees such as the ones at Wal‒Mart, have no choice but to work Black Friday for extra money just to make ends meet while simultaneously watching hundreds of shoppers come into their store and blow multiple paychecks worth of money. Malveaux goes on to say that “According to Wal‒Mart 's CEO, at least half of its workers earn less than $25,000 a year, which is not enough to live on in a city”(Malveaux). This quote from Malveaux confirms the idea of Black Friday being only for the corporations and consumers. Employees are simply the vehicle to make Black Friday happen.

A common worry about Friday is safety, parents wondering if their kids should be out that early in such dangerous crowds. My solution: Do not shop at Wal-Mart! Out of all crime reports filled out on Black Friday, over half of them are involving Wal-Mart customers or staff