...Black Friday Madness In the essay “Black Friday: Consumerism Minus Civilization,” the author, Andrew Leonard, makes the argument that, “The out-of-control marketing and consumer insanity” (135) has taken over Thanksgiving and the days following it. Sadly, as consumers, we have forgotten what Thanksgiving is really all about. Marketing businesses have gone overboard brainwashing consumers with advertisements pumping them up to shop on Black Friday and the days that follow. Moreover, marketing businesses have caused the actions we see and hear about on Black Friday such as people being trampled, as consumers rush into stores to shop the sales, and are proof of this insanity. I strongly agree with Leonard’s arguments from “Black Friday: Consumerism Minus Civilization,” that it is time to take back Thanksgiving and end the craziness. First of all, Leonard points out that marketing and consumers have become out of control with all of the Black Friday sales. He gives examples of advertisements that are out of control. For example, “after the perky Stepford-wife shopper sings joyfully about how she’s ‘been in line since yesterday’ and how everybody’s going to Kohl’s at ‘midnight, midnight’ the ad ends with her observing, with a mild air of perturbance, that she ‘can’t get this darn song out of my head.’ Ladies and gentlemen, there’s your winner of the 2011 award for honesty in advertising” (135). This commercial is an attempt to brainwash consumers. He talks about “grown men screaming...
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...Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving Day on which people find a huge number of offers and deals on different products particularly technology related products such as electronics and toys. However, there are also a good number of other products such as clothes, home goods and miscellaneous items. There is a huge crowd of people, who come to purchase those items, which they require at decreased price. This day is economically beneficial for the country and financially helps many retailers and businesses to cover huge losses and to get benefits covering their financial issues for all of the year. It is also obvious from the term black, which shows the profitable session in contrast to the red session, which shows the session of losses. The concept of Black Friday goes back to the time of 1960s. Black Friday is also approaching this year. Some people among us would not go to enjoy the benefits of this country while many people are counting down the days till it arrives. This Black Friday will also be hilarious as it will also present a huge number of offers and deals to people. As the time of those great deals is coming, people have started looking for best deals in the town. Many new products have been introduced during the last working year and this Black Friday would also introduce great offers on those items making it interesting for customers. Many businesses and retailers start rolling commercials for their offers in the beginning of November. Customers can also find...
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...Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, where it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Since Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday may be as early as the 23rd and as late as the 29th of November. More recently, there is new understanding that the term originates from the theory that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss for most of the year (January through November) and made their profit during the holiday season. When this would be recorded in the financial records, accounting practices would use red ink to show negative amounts and black ink to show positive amounts. Black Friday, under this theory, is the beginning of the period where retailers would no longer have losses (the red) and instead take in the year's profits (the black). With more retailers shifting the start of their big holiday pushes to Thanksgiving, it prompts the question of whether Black Friday even exists in the traditional sense. Things started moving from Friday to Thanksgiving Thursday in 2010 when Sears announced that they would be open on Thanksgiving. Then Walmart opened on Thanksgiving. Followed by Target. Today most of the major retailer are open on Thanksgiving. Black Friday is quickly becoming a relic of years gone by according to Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors (USA Today.com As shopping season expands is Black friday dead...
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...The history of Black Friday actually begins with kick off of The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, created in 1924. This event ushers in the Holiday shopping season that begins on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Taking a closer look... Let's turn the calendar back to 1939, when the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, moved Thanksgiving back a week to offer retailers more time to sell their products and experience a financial upturn. As the change was announced in October, Roosevelt's plan created a bit of confusion among the public. Consequently, many Americans celebrated the Holiday in its original time and in fact, even ridiculed Roosevelt's Holiday changes by referring to the day as "Franksgiving. " Despite the difficulties...
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...Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, started based on an accounting term when records were kept in ink with red signifying a loss in profits and black signifying a profit. Retailers generally operate in the red (unprofitable) throughout the year and depend heavily on the holiday season sales to end the year in the black with a profit. While Black Friday is not considered a national holiday, it has been commercialized as such a big deal that employees are given this day off in the hopes of increasing the number of shoppers. Although Black Friday is a tradition for many families, in today's society, Black Friday has become a bad sign for the US. As we witness every line wrapped around a building at 4am and as we see more and more people...
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... Thanksgiving is a holiday to be with your families and enjoy life. But now, instead of being with their families, people are going out on one of the biggest shopping sprees. Black Friday. Black Friday falls on a Thanksgiving. There is an argument whether the United States Federal Government enact a law that restricts businesses from opening on Thanksgiving. I agree Black Friday, is a day where everything is on sale. I mean everything. People get crazy, they can’t even wait till the...
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...Avoid a black eye on Black Friday Black Friday is the most wonderful time of the year for most people. The Christmas shopping can be done subsequent to a delicious Thanksgiving meal. However, have you ever been elbowed for no reason? Have you ever received a gift for simply entering a store? Have ever been knocked upside the head in a failed attempt to dodge tossed objects? Black Friday is an event of mass hysteria, and yet a much anticipated American tradition. In 1966, Philadelphia Police Department, officially named the day after Thanksgiving Black Friday due to traffic jams and crowding in the downtown stores. Black Friday is very hectic, and if those in attendance for the festivities are not aware of their surrounding they could possibly end up leaving the store on an EMT stretcher. In 2005, The National Retail Federation NRF states that roughly 32% of Americans venture to stores for Black Friday. The discounted products are broadcasted through newspaper and media, which brings widespread attention to various stores that are important to shoppers. In most cases families plan their Thanksgiving gathering to accommodate various stores sale schedules, while other families actually implement the trip to the department stores as merely part of their Thanksgiving...
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...shootings or high volumes of crime my parents just would keep us inside. This situation also was not bad, because again there were many of us to play with each other. As an adult I am more conscious of my surroundings. Moreover I have a daughter and husband, whom I am afraid of losing, due to violence. In 2010, my husband was beat in the head and robbed while walking home from work. Ever since that incident we have changed. Even though we rent an apartment, we now have an alarm system. We start our car up from the house and move quickly to the car and vice-versa. We never walk anywhere in our neighborhood, and our four year old daughter never plays outside with the other children. During the holiday season starting around Black Friday and until after Christmas, our neighborhood has high volume of home burglaries. As a result, my family never shops during the daytime hours; we shop only during evenings or nights. If we shop for appliances or anything expensive we throw our trash in cans farther away from home. My husband and I are currently saving to move away next year. He says we need a change so that our daughter can have friends and I agree. Although I am not sure I will ever...
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...Income inequality damages growth, OECD warns Chris Giles in London Rising income inequality over the past 30 years has damaged growth rates in rich countries by limiting educational opportunities for poor children, according to research by the OECD, the group of mainly rich nations. The finding that higher inequality harms economic performance mirrors the results of a similar study by the International Monetary Fund earlier this year. But the OECD’s analysis goes further because it concentrates on rich countries and attempts to establish the exact cause of inequality’s harmful effects on growth. The OECD said the research showed governments should focus policy on ensuring poorer children gain better education and the supporting people into employment. As inequality has moved higher up the political agenda in rich countries, there has been a flurry of research papers looking into the link between inequality and growth. Clear conclusions have been difficult to achieve because economic theory is ambiguous and the subject has been plagued by research finding spurious associations in the data rather than meaningful causal relationships. Higher inequality can hinder growth by destroying trust in society, hitting investment in skills and reducing demand growth for goods and services from poorer families who tend to spend more of their incomes. But it also provides greater incentives for people to strive to climb the ladder of opportunity and can provide necessary savings to...
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...GEOGRAPHY YEAR 7 STUDENT NAME: Kieran Phipson CLASS: 71C Black Saturday Bushfires The Black Saturday Bushfires is the name given to the bushfires that started on the 7th of February 2009 in Victoria. Approximately 400 fires started on the day of the Black Saturday. They were part of the bushfires that started on Wednesday the 28th of January 2009 and ended on Wednesday the 4th of March. The Black Saturday bushfires killed 173 people and millions of animals, injured 414 people, destroyed 2,100 homes and displaced 7,562 people. People died trapped in houses or outside their homes, in their cars, in their sheds, garages, nature reserves and in hospitals after the fires. The fires cost over 1 billion dollars’ worth of damage. In total 1,100,000...
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...Thursday Thanksgiving Day, which is always the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, is a week from today (today is Nov. 15, 2012; Thanksgiving Day is Nov. 22 this year). The day after Thanksgiving Day is called “Black Friday” in the business world. “Black Friday” is the unofficial beginning of the Christmas and Hanukkah shopping season. The word “black” in “Black Friday” is an accounting term meaning “profit.” Businesses that have been operating “in the red” prior to Thanksgiving Day will hopefully be “in the black” as a result of all the shopping and buying that people do during the holiday (Christmas and Hanukkah) season. Until about ten years ago, stores would open on Black Friday at their usual time (9:00 am or whenever). There would be a long line of people waiting to get in, as most people have the day off on Black Friday and want to begin their Christmas shopping or Hanukkah shopping that day or soon thereafter. Beginning about ten years ago, retail stores began to open earlier and earlier on Black Friday in order to gain an advantage over competitors who opened at 9:00 am. Stores began opening at 6:00 am on Black Friday, then, a few years later, would open at 4:00 am on Black Friday. Some began opening at midnight (12:01 am) on Black Friday. The retail chain Target Stores announced that this year (2012) their stores will open at 9:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day (Thurs., Nov 22). Their stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day until9:00 pm, then will open at 9:00...
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...Was the collapse of Target.com intentional and part of their marketing strategy? It is still unclear as to whether or not this was a marketing strategy used by Target. “Their marketing guys are smart and have been around these power launches before. I wouldn’t be surprised if they planned for this and have inventory in back rooms” said research analyst Brian Sozzi. The launch generated overwhelming amounts of traffic for not only their online store but also for the brick and mortar locations. Consumers felt as though they were getting an exclusive item because of the limited supply therefore it made the items even more appealing. How did the launch of the Missoni line impact Target as a company? Although the Missoni line sold out in rapid time, experts say it will not change the financial trajectory of target on a large scale. However, it did drive mass amounts of traffic and has also gained Target large amounts of press. The launch generated mass amounts of traffic into the stores, some of which purchased the Missoni line and some who bought other products, generating a revenue increase. 3. What was a leading factor in the success and the rapid demand for the Missoni brand? One of the leading factors which helped to make the Missoni line so successful at target is the fact that consumers were able to purchase items from the iconic fashion house but at a much more responsible budget for the average consumer. The exclusivity and buzz caused demands which were higher than anticipated...
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...Black Friday is considered “the busiest shopping day of the year”. The day right after Thanksgiving where everyday citizens rush to any store they can think of to start their holiday shopping. But with this exciting day, comes an almost unexpected loss of money. How much are people really spending for their gifts? Is the amount spent by the average household healthy? Are consumers paying closer attention to their financial situation when shopping? Black Friday may be a day of gathering presents for under the Christmas tree, but finances are ultimately hindered by one cheerful and hectic day. The amount people spend during the Black Friday sales have reached new heights. According to CNN.com/Money the average consumer spends about $398 to $423 dollars in just one evening. If calculated nation wide that would be anywhere between 52.4 billion and 59.1 billion dollars. Part of the reason that so much money is spent during Black Friday actually has something to do with the store hours. Recently stores have noticed that pushing the event up to Thanksgiving Day and extending it a few hours after the day itself increases sales, which is ultimately good for their businesses. CNN also states that due to hours being moved up to 8 P.M. on Thanksgiving Day that the amount of customers has risen an additional 5.6%. Not only are sales going up in stores, online shopping increases during the four day holiday weekend, 21% of online purchases were due to Black Friday sales. Each year the amount...
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...McKenzie Napier English 101 September 8, 2016 Ravisanker begins his essay by stating that college students urge themselves to find the cheapest prices and how hectic black Friday is due to their huge cuts in prices. The problem he identifies is that these cheap products are made by people in sweatshops which are workplaces where, they’re is poor ventilation, and intense heat and many more terrible working conditions. Sweatshop worker’s worker for an extremely low pay rate and work from seventy to eighty hours a week to make these cheap products that everyone loves. He assumes his readers don’t fully understand what sweatshop workers have to go through. His purpose in this essay is to inform the readers of the injustice of sweatshop oppression,...
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...Moreschini Black Friday Is black Friday worth it? Is waiting in long lines impatiently in the cold worth the deals that you receive? Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving that starts early in the morning and lasts all day long. This day makes shoppers go crazy and is believed to save you tons of money. Is it really worth it though? Some people say that its not and that they should just wait till Cyber Monday because there are deals just as good on that day. Also if you wait till cyber Monday you wont have to wait outside in lines all night. You can do it from the comfort of your house in pajamas on the couch. In my opinion I think that cyber Monday is a waste of time. I have participated in it before and I feel that it is almost a trick to the customers. I think that they make the customers think they are getting a really good deal and in reality its not that good of a deal after all. I also agree with the article where it says that the customers can just wait a couple of weeks for the item to go back on sale. Some people would rather just spend the time sleeping and couldn’t comprehend waking up that early to go shopping. One more thing that I think you should think about is the worker. They have to be there even before you and have to prepare in days of advance for this day. They also have to work all day long when they could be at home celebrating the holidays with their families. I don’t think I have ever met a worker that wanted to work on Black Friday. Ultimately...
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