Black Friday has a totally different meaning to what it did when the term was first coined in 1952. In the United States, this particular day only received the same recognition we see today in 1980s, where the people of the United States would prepare to shop for Christmas. Since then, Black Friday has evolved into a clever business model to make more money and shift stock all over the world.
Without sounding like a conspiracy theorist, here’s a list of reasons why you shouldn’t bother shopping on Black Friday.
1. A false sense of urgency
Did you know that sales on Black Friday have been proven to be amongst one of the most expensive date of the year? In a study analysing 6,000 products, it was found that prices were gradually increased weeks before Black Friday, resulting in an average discount of up to 5%.
2. Buying for the sake of buying
In a post-Marie Condo world, it seems we are constantly clearing out our homes and tossing the things that no longer serve a purpose all the time. Spring cleaning efforts are wasted as the weather gets colder and the days shorter in November, giving us all a reason to shop and trigger our brain’s reward centre for a boost of dopamine. And if it isn’t about the dopamine hit, then it’s the family pressure of getting gifts for Christmas to make someone happy.
3. Costing the environment
It may seem obvious but Black Friday is one of the most pollutive days caused by shopping. With the most influencing factor for shoppers to buy online being free shipping, competitors and retailers alike work hard to speed up the delivery process.
In 2019, Amazon topped the charts and made a 54.9% of all sales on Black Friday. You can only imagine how much pollution was created through packaging and petrol alone to deliver items to buyers. Amazon already has a bad reputation for how much packaging is used, and year on year have made pledges that haven’t made much of a difference.
5. There will be plenty of other opportunities to get a good deal
Black Friday isn’t the only e-commerce sales day. Cyber Monday was born in 2005 to follow-up the momentum of Black Friday and offer discounted tech. And as of 2014, it has only gotten bigger and better.
Another one was created too: Singles’ Day. Initially a student tradition created by Chinese students in the 90s to celebrate single life – Alibaba took Single’s Day as an opportunity to sell more products. This grew in popularity around the world, with 78 countries taking part in 2019 and those businesses made $38.4 billion.
You can now find a way to buy anything you want on the internet. Black Friday doesn’t need to be a time to think about gifts or give in to the pressure. The dialogue surrounding gifts is thankfully changing, with families making pacts and finding other creative ways to spend time together this festive season. Don’t fall into the pressure to buy because you’re being reminded to.
Nadia Cheung 