The Truth Behind the Doorbusting Deals of Black Friday
Written by Sean Duffy
Holiday deals are a staple of consumers trying to save a buck or find a good steal, either for themselves or others. Black Friday is the big one, with one day dedicated to massive sales across almost all retail stores in-store and online. Although, Black Friday has branched itself far past the single-day sales of the past.
While sales during Black Friday fell a significant amount this year, it was not due to consumer fatigue or lack of enthusiasm for Black Friday deals. In-store traffic dropped 28% this year compared to 2019. But as the CNBC article points out, overall traffic was almost up by 50%. People are spreading out their shopping earlier in the year. As Black Friday deals are extended to more and more days, the actual Friday after Thanksgiving is seeing a decrease in spending and traffic. Of course, corporations are not sweating. They are probably ecstatic that their products are selling more, and being spread out over a longer duration. While not beating the record 9 billion spent in 2020, this year still reached 8.9 billion dollars spent over Thanksgiving week. Thanksgiving time is not the only week where there are massive deals. Tis’ the holiday season after all, and Christmas deals are just as prevalent as Black Friday. But that begs the question, if these companies have so many deals, almost year-long for some, are these really deals they are selling?
Black Friday used to be known as the event to kick off holiday shopping, with doorbuster deals that would drive a crowd into a frenzy trying to obtain such rarities. Yet, as years have gone by, shoppers have become more aware of how many large retailers operate. While “doorbusters” are heavily advertised, many of these deals come from non-recognizable brands with shoddy quality, and a limited supply likely means you would not even be able to acquire any before they are sold out. Leaving you empty-handed and now searching for alternatives at the store, which is exactly what the retailers want you to do. Also, many of these deals are not one-and-done. Many large retailers like Walmart, Target, etc., just recycle their Black Friday deals year after year, hoping nobody notices.
Another thing is that many of these items that are marked down on Black Friday are sold for even less at other points in time during the year. For example, winter clothing prices drastically fall as the heat ramps up. TVs are almost universally cheaper after Christmas and up to Super Bowl Sunday, and much retail clothing has sales that persist year long as newer inventory replaces the older clothes.
So, putting it plainly, no Black Friday deals are not all they are cracked up to be. Likely, these deals are not very special, or even that far off from their current retail price, but slapping a large 50% off sign will certainly entice enough shoppers to at the very least glance at the product. Now, there can be some deals that are worth the hassle, and as more places move entirely to online shopping, it can be extremely simple to do some holiday shopping and come across deals that are worth it. Just temper expectations that this is a once-in-a-lifetime deal.
