Black Friday, falling on November 29th this year, typically marks one day of everything in crazed and insane proportions. The crowd sizes, shoppers, and deals are insane! On top of all of the infamous madness associated with Black Friday, stores have taken this year to a whole new level by opening as early as Thanksgiving Day for Black Friday sales. Hello, it’s Black Friday not Black Thursday!
I asked students to share their opinion on stores opening so early as well as their plans for shopping.
Julio Silva, a Freshman at Rowan University, plans to score clothing, accessories, gift cards and cologne at stores including Macy’s, JCPenney’s, Hollister, PacSun, Forever 21 and Express.
Gabrielle Gutleber, a Freshman at Rowan University, hopes to find shoes, tops and scarves at stores including Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, Nordstrom, and VSPink.
When asked “how early will you be going?” Silva replied, “Around 1 am” and Gutleber answered, “12 am, it’s Midnight Mall Madness!”
Silva’s shopping strategy is to know someone who works in the store, that way you can also apply their employee discount to your purchase.
I questioned, “How do you feel about stores opening as early as Thanksgiving Day for Black Friday sales?” which resulted in the following responses:
Silva: “It’s too much. Thanksgiving is a holiday for the family. Shopping should be for the next day.”
Gutleber: “I don’t like it. They’d be better off opening stores at 3 am on Black Friday. You can get better deals in a shorter amount of time…opening earlier causes more riots.”
I asked Silva how he plans to stay awake to shop after eating all of the Thanksgiving turkey to which he replied, “By getting loads of coffee and caffeine…like we’re going to Dunkin’ Donuts before!”
Silva and Gutleber have each previously encountered a crazy experience on Black Friday. “Last year, I worked on Black Friday. Shoppers were very demanding. They yelled at each other and employees,” stated Silva. Last year, Gutleber witnessed an older woman rioting and shaking her cane in the air in Victoria’s Secret!
The two will also be shopping online on Cyber Monday.
How do you feel about the early opening of shops for Black Friday sales? Comment below!
Happy shopping! Be safe!