#8- The Black Friday dilemma.

     This year's black Friday has shed light on how dumbed down the coveted holiday sales day has become in recent years. There were many stores that did not have insane black Friday crowds as in years before. Many stores only experienced slightly busier days instead of bracing for manic customers running around with carts of products. The truth of it is that there are many factors why Black Friday isn't the same anymore. Many recent developments and events have helped to shape this.

     The first, and biggest culprit of why the Black Friday crowds weren't all there was due to the easy accessibility of online shopping. Online shopping saves the hassle of the time and money of transportation, and allows people to access the deals they want to from home. It also helps store earn more profits because people who normally do not go Black Friday shopping (or are unable to) can look around websites to find similar or even better deals without the stress of competing with others for parking spots or facing the possible crowds and lines when physically shopping.

    A similar reason of why Black Friday did not have the same energy is recent years is because of the additional online sales and deals that have been happening online for the entire month. First, this included having the online sister of Black Friday: Cyber Monday. This day holds more deals online that may have people holding off on spending a ton of money on the big Friday itself. In addition, and even more recently, many stores and brands have been offering their Black Friday sales for the entire week before, and sometimes even longer.

    There are also some more bleak and negative reasons why Black Friday has been more of a flop this year compared to years prior. In the current economy, many people don't see the deals offered at most stores to be worth it anymore. Most people don't feel that 20-30% off items that are already costly are worth buying. This is especially because there were times when typical Black Friday deals across stores were more around 50-80% for items with a higher demand or a higher price tag. 

    An even more sinister tactic has been used in more recent Black Fridays all across different companies. Many companies would sharply raise the price of an item in the month/weeks leading up to their big Holiday deals only to mark it down back to its original price so customers think they are getting a deal when they are actually paying the normal price. Some places also would have sales on products already and would slap the "Black Friday deal" tag or sticker on it to make it seem like the deal would be limited and consumers would need to take action quickly. There were also many deals that only applied if you spent a hefty amount of money on items within a store. While inflation and the expensive costs of a lot of items can be blamed, it also could be possible that companies weren't as willing to let go of the higher prices to have more of a profit.

    Overall, it's no wonder why many stores were disappointed by the lack of crowds and the kind of rush that is usually expected on Black Friday. Many consumers didn't see the worth of either physically shopping for Black Friday deals or splurging on many items or gifts at all. The current economy, the cost of living, and people mitigating their holiday expenses paired with the mediocre deals have made Black Friday more of a letdown. Despite the more dismal experience Black Friday is, it still managed to take in a lot of sales and had an upwards of 7.5 billion sales. This begs the question where Black Friday will be a better experience next year, or will companies keep up the trends and sneaky tactics they had this year since they will still be able to make big profits? Only time will tell as the 2024 holiday season approaches.