Black Friday is one of the most exciting days of the year, often taking over the holiday joy of Thanksgiving by starting early that Thursday night rather than the next day. It is characterized by huge crowds, sales on almost everything, and an “every man for himself” approach towards everything.
With so much enthusiasm and high energy, it is easy to overlook what is actually happening on Black Friday. The whole event is really just marketing propaganda used to attract the attention of people looking for a deal.
Major competitors on Black Friday, such as Target and Walmart, encourage people to buy items from all aspects of life for cheap prices. These stores use their cut prices to subliminally influence customers to buy more items instead of just what they came for. When everything is cheaper than usual, it makes people think they need to buy anything they can while it is on sale thus they end up spending more money because they buy items they do not really need.
The other hot spots for Black Friday are the stores with higher priced products like Best Buy. TV’s are a popular purchase on Black Friday which indirectly brings more attraction towards Best Buy since it is a store widely known for its technology.
Its gimmick is by making people buy electronics that they would not buy without a deal. The very expensive products at Best Buy such as computers, TV’s, and gaming consoles are often marked down by sometimes hundreds of dollars, so of course it is a deal price-wise. However, when looked at through a different lens, these deals are made to push people to buy something that is usually out of their price range.
The traditional spirit of Black Friday is even more of a trick. By limiting the cheap prices to just a few days, it creates a feeling of missing out. If there are sales all around, it would almost make someone feel stupid to not give in to them. Of course it is great to take advantage of them, but Black Friday can often end up being more of a dent in people’s wallets than the bargain craze that corporations make it out to be.
