Do You Do Black Friday?

   By drodriguez  Nov 28, 2009
73

For those of you that were brave enough to wade through the crowds of Black Friday shoppers this year, you may have noticed that not everyone stuck it out all day long.  The Wall Street Journal reported Friday evening that Black Friday started out strong, but slowly thinned out by afternoon.  This is because shoppers were not willing to stick around unless they were seeing some major discounts. 

A lot of the savings we were seeing this year came in the form of doorbusters and a good deal of sales on electronics.  Unless you were lined up outside the door just as stores opened in the early morning, you may not have seen too many savings.  The Wall Street Journal reports that Andrew Harris, a Dallas police officer, planned his Black Friday out perfectly when he showed up for a sale at Target at 3am, 2 hours before the store even opened, and bought a 32" LCD HDTV for $246 (a savings of $180). 

Wal-Mart also saw lots of traffic, with some customers showing up the evening before to camp out in front of the store.  Stores like Wal -Mart recognize the need to get shoppers in by enticing them with deep discounts since many consumers have expressed a need to spend less this year than last. 

Aix Partners LLP
released a study earlier this year with some data about the upcoming holiday season.  They found that 88 percent of consumers planned to spend less this year than last year and 82 percent said that what they do spend money on will be purchased from value stores like Wal -Mart.  Though the numbers sound bleak for retailers, the National Retail Federation is only predicting a 1 percent drop in U.S. holiday sales, which is up from last years 3.4 percent decline. 

Did you venture out to the stores this Black Friday?

Do you plan on spending less on gifts this holiday season than you did last year?
 

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Denisegrnk by Denisegrnk | WORTH, IL
Nov 30, 2009

Nope~~~ Not worth the aggravation & in Chicago it's not only aggravating it's dangerous!!!

mommyducky by mommyducky | Plantation, FL
Nov 30, 2009

I didn't make it to black friday this year due to lack of funds, I can't shop for christmas gifts. I am going to do my shopping online with gift cards that people have given me and that I have signed up for. I will do amazon. That is the best. My brother went and he said that the deals weren't that great and that there were so many people that it wasn't even worth it. He got freaked out and left without even buying what he went to get. He said it wasn't worth the hassle.

birds4me2 by birds4me2 | Spring Hill, FL
Nov 29, 2009

I did go Black Friday shopping this year. Target and Walmart were the only stores I visited and it was well worth it. Got what was on my xmas shopping list :)

carrothead by carrothead | ormond beach, FL
Nov 29, 2009

. I went to walmart shopping ,we went to garden center to check out stand in line for 10 miin and out the door

brimcgrail by brimcgrail | Clinton Twp, MI
Nov 29, 2009

I have shopped on Black Friday in the past and will NOT do it again-I have been shoved , pushed, stepped on, cursed at, and stood in lines for hours to then be told that the product I was looking for was sold out....

josmommy by josmommy | toledo, OH
Nov 29, 2009

i did do blsck friday and if u go a little later the crowds arent as bad and u can still score killer deals...

Trista by Trista | Rochester, NY
Nov 29, 2009

I do not go shopping on Black Friday as a rule and did not this year. I do quite a bit of cyber shopping. My budget is tight this year so my Christmas list is not as long as it has been in years past.

nata78sha by nata78sha | lacey, WA
Nov 29, 2009

I have been out to the stores on Black Friday before.. but not this year. We are stationed at Fort Irwin which is in the middle of no where in CA. So there really wasnt anything that I wanted THAT BAD - not enough to drive an hour and half and then fight crowds and wait in line for 45 minutes to check out. SOOO I did my black friday shopping online this year. I know quite a few people who are waiting for cyber monday.

jlincon71 by jlincon71 | san antonio, TX
Nov 29, 2009

I can not do black friday i can't stans the crowds and then waiting in line for hours...no thank you i rather stay in.

kmpbacon by kmpbacon | Morehead City, NC
Nov 29, 2009

I did not get up early to go shopping this year. I already have alot of my shopping done and there was nothing worth getting up early for me to buy. This year I have been very creative and have made personalized baskets for everyone with a specific theme.

sartom by sartom | CINCINNATI, OH
Nov 29, 2009

We did go out on Black Friday, but not at odarkthirty in the morning. My husband and I went about 11 or so because what we wanted was going to be on sale all day and was not a "hot" item. We went to Target and got two Christmas presents for the kids. Nothing else was "on sale" that we really wanted or needed. I only go out when there is something on the kids list that they want. We thought about going to Sears for the washer and dryer deal (500 for the pair) but each Sears was only getting 4 sets, and I did not want to stand in line for the chance of maybe possibly getting one. If they want to sell them that badly, they would have that sale everyday and help out the "little" people. more.

MarieVonLove by MarieVonLove | BROOKLYN, NY
Nov 29, 2009

I don't do Black Fridays because I can't stand the crowds and the idea of fighting someone over a discount. The whole point of shopping was to be happy, not start a brawl.

heather23 by heather23 | Jackson, MI
Nov 29, 2009

On-line shopping on Thanksgiving and Black Friday is the best of both worlds. No crowds, with early bird deals and free shipping all around. Black Friday was the first day of snow here in the midwest and I was warm and cozy shopping from home.

jstagrl by jstagrl | Houston, TX
Nov 29, 2009

No! I have never shopped on Black Friday. I absolutely hate crowds and from what I hear, some people behave ridiculous. There is nothing out there that I want so bad that I would be willing to fight my way through crowds of crazy people. I highly prefer to shop early in the morning, on weekdays... during normal days. I don't care if it's not a sale. I'm an avid couponer and almost always find a way to get what I want for a good price.

abbashiikh by abbashiikh | Houston, TX
Nov 29, 2009

The only time i like black friday is when i need a specific product and it costs too much then i get to save 50 percent of the regular price.