Attack the Rack (Black Friday)

My Favorite Word

I have been on a bit of a shopping spree over Thanksgiving break, but I have found comfort in the fact that I am certainly not alone. Black Friday is the name given to the day after Thanksgiving; it is a day of sales and bargains galore for dedicated shoppers, and marks the beginning of the holiday shopping madness. After reading an article I found in Mr. B's quick links on www.anamericanstudies.com, I was able to make a little more sense of why people are willing to lose sleep just to save some bucks. The article highlights a few different reasons for why people love shopping on Black Friday, including: "the crowds make us happy", "we love the hunt", and "it's about togetherness". The first and third reasons seem a bit peculiar to me, but I can relate to the idea that "we love the hunt."

I would like to offer another probable explanation of why Black Friday is as crazy as it is: saving money is an emotional boost. I was raised with the advice that when possible, buy on sale and/or use a coupon. Nowadays, I rarely get the same satisfaction buying something full price as when I have bought it and saved money. Today at Bed Bath & Beyond, I managed to save $20 by using eight 20% coupons, and boy did I walk out of there feeling good. (Tip: Bed Bath & Beyond is one of the best places for bargain lovers. They send out a trillion coupons and do not check expiration dates.) My friend was sharing with me a few stories about her Black Friday shopping marathon that began at 10 p.m. on Thursday and went until 7 a.m. on Friday. Each story was preceded by "and guess how much I saved".

Whether or not cost is an issue for a shopper, everyone would rather buy something on sale for $60 than buy something originally marked as $60. This may seem a bit obvious, but what is much less obvious is that this makes perfectly good sense for a reason: Americans always want the best version of something, and the product being on sale or being able to use a coupon to buy the item allows someone to buy a better version of a product than they would have otherwise been able to. So, the next time you start hating on Black Friday, just think of it as a happy American tradition -- those who partake in the bargain hunting certainly do "Shoppers planned extensively for Black Friday — as they would for a holiday meal — and relish the day in part because it allows them to spend time with close friends and family" (Khazan).