Teenagers' First Black Friday: Kids Reach Shopping Age and Help the Economy
Posted: Saturday, November 27, 2010
by Mogama
http://www.mogama.info
It's the one day of the year that big American retailers aim to turn a profit, "be in the black". And it's one of the few times that "black" means something "good", something "positive"!
How big a deal is Black Friday? ShopperTrak, International Council of Shopping Centers, and National Retail Federation have tallied the numbers. In 2009, 12.3 percent of Holiday sales were logged over the 2009 Thanksgiving weekend, and about half of those sales took place on Black Friday. In 2010, up to around 138 million shoppers raced to shopping centers (oregonlive.com). That's around 44% of America's population. A survey by Nielsen Wire projects that 61% of Black Friday shoppers will spend anywhere from $100 to $500. That calculates to buyers spending at least $8.4 billion, while sellers wish for much greater spending than that.
For some shoppers, Black Friday is a tradition. For others an "adventure" or "the experience". Other shoppers go "just to see what it's like". Some do it to "help the economy". For real shoppers, it's all about "the deals", the low prices.
The beautiful Miss Harriet compared Black Friday prices to later pre-Chrismas prices and found she got better prices after Black Friday than before. She says she even got bigger deals during post-Christmas shopping.
For me, the first serious mention of Black Friday 2010 came when one told me he was going to camp out all night in front of Best Buy to buy electronic. Among his planned purchases is a $349 desktop computer for the church. On Black Friday's wintry morning, this dude, standing in a long line by his tent, boasted, "I got the #1 ticket," he told me with the biggest shopper's smile one can give or find.
Our teenagers give us the Black Friday alert on Thanksgiving Day. "Dad, we want to go shopping tomorrow..."
"But why?" I demanded.
"We've got some money, and we want to buy some winter clothes."
"It will depend on the weather..." I reluctantly said, leaving me weasel room.
Rack tat-tat came the knock on our door. I raised my head to check the time on the clock. It was about 3:00 AM! "OMG, these kids were not kidding! Are they really going to do this?"
Our daughter recently got hired by McDonald's, her first real job. She makes $7.25 per hour, minimum wage. Our son works on kente strips for a Ghanaian family in our church; they pay him $1 per kente strip. He just got paid his largest wage yet. Both teens are determined to spend it all...in one day.
I crawled out of bed. Climbed into my morning robe. Head out the door to check the weather the old fashion way. There's ice on the car, but my caveat vanishes when I see there is no ice on the ground. "Boy, where's bad weather when you need it?!"
"So, Dad, how's the weather? We're going, right?"
Quickly I changed my attitude. "I just want them to have the experience," I tell Miss Harriet.
With that I dropped my teenagers at the Mall. Drove over to the Super Walmart on Highway 54 to see if there was a Black Friday price on the Straight Talk Nokia E71 smartphone I've been eying for days. The phone's price had not budged. Still $199.98. I gave Walmart $200, comforting myself, "I got a deal, though nowhere near a Black Friday steal."
Later that afternoon, my wife found out that all the stores Macy's, JC Penny's, et al, kept prices at pre-dawn Black Friday levels.
One couple heading for Black Friday deals in our city gave up the hunt when their vehicle broke down by the bridge just before they entered Owensboro. They ran out of gasoline. Before some shoppers got to Walmart, the store had run out of the lowest-price wrist bands.
About three hours later, my daughter text-messaged me: "We're dun." I scrambled out of bed for the second time. Drove to the Mall. Waited for about 20 minutes before my adolescent pair peeled away from the mall's premises. What really ticked me off is that they got right back in bed and dozed off to a lengthy sleep session like they had been recruited for research by the Sleep Therapy Institute. But I had to encourage myself. "How wonderful to know that we have helped the economy to rebound! That's worth every bit of Black Friday hangover." ~mogama~
How big a deal is Black Friday? ShopperTrak, International Council of Shopping Centers, and National Retail Federation have tallied the numbers. In 2009, 12.3 percent of Holiday sales were logged over the 2009 Thanksgiving weekend, and about half of those sales took place on Black Friday. In 2010, up to around 138 million shoppers raced to shopping centers (oregonlive.com). That's around 44% of America's population. A survey by Nielsen Wire projects that 61% of Black Friday shoppers will spend anywhere from $100 to $500. That calculates to buyers spending at least $8.4 billion, while sellers wish for much greater spending than that.
The beautiful Miss Harriet compared Black Friday prices to later pre-Chrismas prices and found she got better prices after Black Friday than before. She says she even got bigger deals during post-Christmas shopping.
For me, the first serious mention of Black Friday 2010 came when one told me he was going to camp out all night in front of Best Buy to buy electronic. Among his planned purchases is a $349 desktop computer for the church. On Black Friday's wintry morning, this dude, standing in a long line by his tent, boasted, "I got the #1 ticket," he told me with the biggest shopper's smile one can give or find.
Our teenagers give us the Black Friday alert on Thanksgiving Day. "Dad, we want to go shopping tomorrow..."
"But why?" I demanded.
"We've got some money, and we want to buy some winter clothes."
"It will depend on the weather..." I reluctantly said, leaving me weasel room.
Rack tat-tat came the knock on our door. I raised my head to check the time on the clock. It was about 3:00 AM! "OMG, these kids were not kidding! Are they really going to do this?"
Our daughter recently got hired by McDonald's, her first real job. She makes $7.25 per hour, minimum wage. Our son works on kente strips for a Ghanaian family in our church; they pay him $1 per kente strip. He just got paid his largest wage yet. Both teens are determined to spend it all...in one day.
I crawled out of bed. Climbed into my morning robe. Head out the door to check the weather the old fashion way. There's ice on the car, but my caveat vanishes when I see there is no ice on the ground. "Boy, where's bad weather when you need it?!"
"So, Dad, how's the weather? We're going, right?"
Quickly I changed my attitude. "I just want them to have the experience," I tell Miss Harriet.
With that I dropped my teenagers at the Mall. Drove over to the Super Walmart on Highway 54 to see if there was a Black Friday price on the Straight Talk Nokia E71 smartphone I've been eying for days. The phone's price had not budged. Still $199.98. I gave Walmart $200, comforting myself, "I got a deal, though nowhere near a Black Friday steal."
Later that afternoon, my wife found out that all the stores Macy's, JC Penny's, et al, kept prices at pre-dawn Black Friday levels.
One couple heading for Black Friday deals in our city gave up the hunt when their vehicle broke down by the bridge just before they entered Owensboro. They ran out of gasoline. Before some shoppers got to Walmart, the store had run out of the lowest-price wrist bands.
About three hours later, my daughter text-messaged me: "We're dun." I scrambled out of bed for the second time. Drove to the Mall. Waited for about 20 minutes before my adolescent pair peeled away from the mall's premises. What really ticked me off is that they got right back in bed and dozed off to a lengthy sleep session like they had been recruited for research by the Sleep Therapy Institute. But I had to encourage myself. "How wonderful to know that we have helped the economy to rebound! That's worth every bit of Black Friday hangover." ~mogama~
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Mogama, I had a long discussion with my son today about the origins, purpose and meaning to Black Friday. He found it hard to believe this one day (or weekend) had such a profound impact on the nation's retail sector. Luckily, we did not really participate in the madness, preferring instead to visit resale shops that do not participate. But it did put us out in the same traffic and made us marvel at what this one period does to people. Thanks for offering your inside perspective.Please log in to respond to this comment.Kudos to you, George, for taking time to discuss what Black Friday is about. I admit your experience was far less costly than mine! ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
My granddaughters, their friends and moms go shopping every year and do their share to contribute to Black Friday. They have a crew worked out. A line saver for checking out and the others are the item seekers. And yes they always tell their Dad they have to shop to make Black Friday work. I am willing to guess that the teens and tweens make a big percentage of the 25 billion.Please log in to respond to this comment.What a fine Black Friday system your family members have worked out! Thanks, Linda, for sharing that. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Good to know you've done your duty by the economy, Mogama!!Please log in to respond to this comment.Indeed, Jennifer, and I am out of $200 and some gasoline as bragging rights. LOL ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
This is what it is coming to; stupidity and conceit. This is what is called a controlling, ignorant person: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/17/maines-new-governor-paul-lepage-tells-naacp-to-kiss-my-butt/Please log in to respond to this comment.
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