Black Friday has changed in the past few years enough to cause me to officially declare it DEAD. They have marketed the fun out of it.
I’ll just say it. Stores should be closed on Thanksgiving day in order for all to enjoy the day with family, friends, or just themselves.
Here are a bunch of stores that will be closed on Thanksgiving. Please shop there on Black Friday. Their employees will be well rested and ready to assist you.
•AAFES
•A.C. Moore
•Academy Sports
•American Girl
•Barnes & Noble
•Bed Bath & Beyond
•BJ’s Wholesale Club
•Blains Farm & Fleet
•Burlington
•Cabela’s
•Christmas Tree Shops
•Christopher and Banks
•Costco
•Crate & Barrel
•Dillard’s
•DSW
•Fred Meyers
•Game Stop
•Guitar Center
•Half Price Books
•Hobby Lobby
•Home Depot
•Home Goods
•IKEA
•Jo-Ann Fabrics & Craft Stores
•Lowe’s
•Marshalls
•Menards
•Neiman Marcus
•Nordstrom
•Nordstrom Rack
•Office Depot & OfficeMax
•P.C.Richard & Son
•Patagonia
•Petco
•PetSmart
•Pier 1 Imports
•Publix
•Raymour & Flannigan
•REI
•Sam’s Club
•Sierra Trading Post
•Staples
•The Container Store
•T.J.Maxx
Black Friday is the day when retailers finally begin to turn a profit for the year. In accounting terms, operating at a loss (losing money) is called being “in the red” because accountants traditionally used red ink to show negative amounts (losses). Typically, this happens the day AFTER Thanksgiving.
It appears that retailers are having Black Friday sales from mid-October up to and including Black Friday. This dilutes the excitement and allure of waking up early the day after Thanksgiving, ad circulars clutched in hand, to get the deal of the year. There are no real deals anymore…no prizes…no fun. If you do go out on Black Friday, you will be greeted with stacks of “doorbusters” that haven’t sold in the previous days of “Black Fridays.” The retailers are not stocking any loss-leaders (a product sold at a loss to attract customers).
So, it is over, dead, “finito.” At least I still have the memories.
