Prof in the New York Times suggests you should forget the theory that Black Friday is the day for the best shopping deals.
Why? It is not until early December, Professor Etzioni’s research shows, that prices are likely to be the lowest for electronics, products that are among the biggest sellers on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
“The bottom line is, Black Friday is for the retailers to go from the red into the black,” he said. “It’s not really for people to get great deals on the most popular products.”
As a dedicated anti-shopper, my observations aren’t worth much, but my theories are:
1) You’re crazy to line up for a hot, cheap item at a big box if you haven’t first intensively shopped it on the web. And taken into account the convenience of doorstep delivery and the cost of standing in lines, driving to the big box and so forth.
2) For a lot of people, the Black Friday stampede is a sport. Think of the thousands of hunters who DON’T bag a deer on the first day of deer season. For many, the ritual and being there were their own rewards.
P.S. — A bomb threat prompted evacuation of the Bentonville Walmart (by Walmart hq) this morning.