Black Friday 2021

[OtinG]

Before the internet came along, probably about the late 1980s in my location at the time, one of the big malls bucked the tradition of waiting to open up on the "day after" Thanksgiving (Black Friday), and opened on Thanksgiving afternoon around 2pm. And they stayed open for 100 hours straight, which was unheard of in those days for brick and mortar stores. The following year many of the big stores did the same. Within a few years almost all of the stores were doing the same.

As far back as I can remember, and I’m in my mid 60s, stores like Walmart were starting to sell Xmas decorations and supplies as early as Labor Day. It wasn't even close to Halloween yet, and the Santas and other Xmas things were decorating the stores!

It just seems to get worse each year with all the one-upmanship between all the retail stores, especially on the internet these days. By the time we get to Christmas Day it seems like the holiday has been around for a whole quarter of a year. I fully expect to see Freddy Kruger dressed as Santa selling Xmas stuff on TV right after Labor Day. It rather dilutes the whole holiday feeling...

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Online spending on Black Friday decreased for the very first time

That's what they get for selling things at Black Friday pricing a month before Black Friday.

I wish they'd go back to the old system of one ad and 4 days of shopping. Friday through Sunday for Black Friday and Monday for Cyber Monday. This year was a nightmare to track.

Well, I can certainly see that it was a lot more work for you--for which I am most appreciative!--but I liked the extended BF. I probably spent more than ever, getting deals on items that were already on my wish list (TV, kitchenware, furniture, clothing) but needed the impetus of a sale price. I also liked knowing that if I missed one deal, another one on a similar item would come along, so the pressure was less.

It seems bonkers to compare BF this year with previous years, when this year the retailers changed their sales calendar. None of my purchases, for example, were made on BF itself.

[conan50]

Went into Walmart on Black Friday. They had no special displays like usual on Black Fridays. I saw nothing to make me think it was black friday, including no crowd. Indeed, it looked no different than any other day crowd wise in Walmart.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by conan50

Went into Walmart on Black Friday. They had no special displays like usual on Black Fridays. I saw nothing to make me think it was black friday, including no crowd. Indeed, it looked no different than any other day crowd wise in Walmart.

Yep, it's official: Corporate America has ruined Black Friday!

Went into Walmart on Black Friday.

I was gonna say: "you poor soul", but then, you quickly dispelled that notion.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Well, I can certainly see that it was a lot more work for you--for which I am most appreciative!

Thanks for that

--but I liked the extended BF. I probably spent more than ever, getting deals on items that were already on my wish list (TV, kitchenware, furniture, clothing) but needed the impetus of a sale price. I also liked knowing that if I missed one deal, another one on a similar item would come along, so the pressure was less.

It seems bonkers to compare BF this year with previous years, when this year the retailers changed their sales calendar. None of my purchases, for example, were made on BF itself.

I'm changing the way I do this thread for next year. This year, I dropped cross referencing sales prices by category, since there were way too many sales dates. I also dropped quite a few categories I used to track.

Next year, I plan to copy/paste posts 3~5 (Tablets, eReaders, Smart Devices) from the Tablets, eReaders, Media Players thread and just track those prices. I'll also have a Misc Deals post for other key deals (gift cards, inexpensive phones, etc).

Individual store posts will no longer track prices. They'll still contain everything else (sales dates, links to ad scans, customer service info, major press releases about their plans, etc).

It all boils down to: "hey, here are the sales dates, so look through the ads to see what qualifies for those dates and times".

Anyway, it's still a work in progress.

It's a good thing I'm a major multi-tasker, else I wouldn't have the time to do the Audiobook and Black Friday threads.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by conan50

Went into Walmart on Black Friday. They had no special displays like usual on Black Fridays. I saw nothing to make me think it was black friday, including no crowd. Indeed, it looked no different than any other day crowd wise in Walmart.

Various news sources are reporting that in-store BF sales are down quite a bit this year. I assume that is because many prefer to shop online and avoid the crowds.

[library addict]

I don't mind if they keep the sales for more days. But I hate that they don't all publish what actually is on sale and the price in the actual ads.

Kohls had slippers on sale advertised as "selected styles". Which ones were on sale and for how much off fluctuated a great deal between the early BF sale, actual BF, BF weekend, and Cyber Monday.

The HP ad had "Daily Doorbusters all month long check online for best pricing" And some of the deals lasted 24 hours, some 12 hours. Some repeated later in week, others didn't. The one I bought on Saturday is $25 less today, but I didn't want to risk losing out on it as I didn't know it would be a doorbuster again today as they didn't advertise specifically which models would be. I still managed to get it for less than the price listed in the actual ad scan, it is just on sale for a bit more today. Oh well.

I don't miss the having to stay up until midnight in wherever the store's corporate office happens to be to try to buy things online, getting it into your cart, and then being told it was out of stock when you attempted to complete the purchase. But I do like planning things out in advance so I can stick to a budget and have enough time to research the various options.

And thanks again, Monkey, for all of your efforts. They are very much appreciated!

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Various news sources are reporting that in-store BF sales are down quite a bit this year. I assume that is because many prefer to shop online and avoid the crowds.

I would say it has more to do with runaway inflation, loss of jobs or reduced income, permanently closed businesses and a general fear of what lies ahead.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Skydog

I would say it has more to do with runaway inflation, loss of jobs or reduced income, permanently closed businesses and a general fear of what lies ahead.

Could be, but they said online sales were pretty high.

Some people like shopping in B&M stores. After my dad died I would take my mom pretty much anywhere she needed to go because she didn’t drive and she lived in a rural area where cabs were not an option. Whenever I took her to shop, she would happily go up and down every aisle, pick up and examine almost every item whether she wanted to buy it or not, and pretty much annoy me to death! I’m a get in, find item, get out quick shopper. But for mom it was a great adventure, and I understood that so I tried my best to never show my annoyance and lack of patience at being stuck in a store with her for hours. But a lot of people are more like I am in that they prefer to shop online and have stuff delivered. Even before the pandemic B&M stores were suffering. A lot of old chains like Sears have disappeared. A lot of people today just don’t have the time nor desire to go shopping at a B&M store.

[crane3]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Could be, but they said online sales were pretty high.

Some people like shopping in B&M stores. After my dad died I would take my mom pretty much anywhere she needed to go because she didn’t drive and she lived in a rural area where cabs were not an option. Whenever I took her to shop, she would happily go up and down every aisle, pick up and examine almost every item whether she wanted to buy it or not, and pretty much annoy me to death! I’m a get in, find item, get out quick shopper. But for mom it was a great adventure, and I understood that so I tried my best to never show my annoyance and lack of patience at being stuck in a store with her for hours. But a lot of people are more like I am in that they prefer to shop online and have stuff delivered. Even before the pandemic B&M stores were suffering. A lot of old chains like Sears have disappeared. A lot of people today just don’t have the time nor desire to go shopping at a B&M store.

AND some are able to find what is needed via online instead of the B&M store.

Some years ago I was looking for terry cloth pot holder replacements; did not remember where I got them & had to search in this area for about 5 yrs before checking for them in Amazon; found it.

Then there was the case I was looking for faucet filter inserts locally; not available higher than the 1.8 gpm but Homedepot & lowes will order them for me. Got them from Amazon.

Currently, looking for showerhead water flow filter restrictors replacement; have ordered them from Amazon.

I have an apple shaped body & the new clothing for sale these days are "slightly slimed", slimed, atheletic won't fit well. Had to do the search online.

EDIT: Also there is the problem of stock & supply. Whoever decided on the "Just in time" method of supply is guilty of the lack of supply at the local store; partially problem of the inventory tax. "Just in time" supply isn't working currently as the supply side is backed up.

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Before the internet came along, probably about the late 1980s in my location at the time, one of the big malls bucked the tradition of waiting to open up on the "day after" Thanksgiving (Black Friday), and opened on Thanksgiving afternoon around 2pm. And they stayed open for 100 hours straight, which was unheard of in those days for brick and mortar stores. The following year many of the big stores did the same. Within a few years almost all of the stores were doing the same.

As far back as I can remember, and I’m in my mid 60s, stores like Walmart were starting to sell Xmas decorations and supplies as early as Labor Day. It wasn't even close to Halloween yet, and the Santas and other Xmas things were decorating the stores!

It just seems to get worse each year with all the one-upmanship between all the retail stores, especially on the internet these days. By the time we get to Christmas Day it seems like the holiday has been around for a whole quarter of a year. I fully expect to see Freddy Kruger dressed as Santa selling Xmas stuff on TV right after Labor Day. It rather dilutes the whole holiday feeling...

I've never heard of a mall staying open 24 hours a day, much less multiple days in a row. That's pretty crazy.

When I worked at K-mart in the early 90s, K-mart and Walmart were both closed for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Our Walmart wasn't a super center one yet, so I don't know if the super centers also did this.) As I recall, Walmart started things by deciding to stay open on Thanksgiving one year. The next year they stayed open for Easter as well. K-mart followed suit, because they couldn't afford to lose business to Walmart on those days. So from what I saw, you can blame Walmart for that. I'm sure some other major store chain would have done it eventually and forced everyone else to follow, though.

It worked pretty well for employees at Thanksgiving & Black Friday. Everyone got a day off to rest up and relax before the utter madness that was Black Friday morning shopping. It made dealing with all that a lot less stressful.

Originally Posted by library addict

I don't mind if they keep the sales for more days. But I hate that they don't all publish what actually is on sale and the price in the actual ads.

Stores did some weird stuff this year. I got a 14TB external drive from Best Buy, but it was in-store pickup only and not ready until December 8th. Apparently they meant that, as I've yet to receive an email telling me it's ready to pickup. I found that kind of annoying, but didn't want to miss out on the deal. (And of course it ended up on sale for the same price at Amazon the next day, then Newegg over the weekend.)

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Online spending on Black Friday decreased for the very first time

That's what they get for selling things at Black Friday pricing a month before Black Friday.

I wish they'd go back to the old system of one ad and 4 days of shopping. Friday through Sunday for Black Friday and Monday for Cyber Monday. This year was a nightmare to track.

I agree, and as a consumer it's too confusing to try to find the best deal, I just gave up. I did get online: 2 items from Kohl's and the 40" TV from walmart.

[GA Russell]

My guess is that the one day following Thanksgiving is not as important as it used to be.

The govt will release the Christmas retail sales figure in March, and that will tell us whether the 2021 spending is strong.

[tubemonkey]

Cyber Monday online sales drop 1.4% from last year to $10.7 billion, falling for the first time ever

Color me not surprised, again. Retailers need to drop the pretense that Black Friday and Cyber Monday even exist. They killed both days when they instituted early sales at Black Friday pricing. Special days are meaningless when the sales now cover a period of some six to seven weeks.

Consumers logged online Monday and spent $10.7 billion, marking a 1.4% decrease from year-ago levels, according to data released Tuesday by Adobe Analytics.

This year’s tally marks the first time that Adobe has tracked a slowdown in spending on major shopping days. The firm first began reporting on e-commerce in 2012, and it analyzes more than 1 trillion visits to retailers’ websites.

Despite the slowdown, Adobe expects the entire holiday season will see record-breaking e-commerce activity, as shoppers spread out their dollars over more days.

So far, from Nov. 1 through Cyber Monday, consumers in the United States have spent $109.8 billion online, which is up 11.9% year over year, Adobe said. And on 22 of those days, consumers purchased more than $3 billion worth of goods, another new milestone, it said.

[OtinG]

Specific numbers for any fabricated sale day don't matter that much IMO. What matters is the numbers for the 4th quarter of the year as that is basically the holiday shopping season now.