Black Friday: The American Holiday

At 3:30 a.m., a line of adults huddled in heavy coats, clutching shivering children stretched three city blocks from the locked doors of Glenbrook Square Mall in Fort Wayne, despite the 22 degree temperature.

No one was surprised by this phenomenon. Black Friday had struck once again.

And it was happening everywhere. In the Clarksville, Ind., WalMart, heavy security was employed to prevent serious injury as people shoved each other out of the way. The Los Angeles Times reported fights breaking out in Best Buy and shoppers trying to bribe their way into Toys“R”Us early. ABC said someone was trampled in a mad rush in a Buffalo, N.Y., Target.

So why all the craziness?

First-time Black Friday shoppers Babra Chakanyuka and her daughter were drawn in by the deals at Macy’s. The Bandolino boots they tried on had dropped from $119 to $59.50.

She and her daughter set out at 3 a.m. to Glenbrook and waited for Macy’s to open its doors at 4 a.m.

“The good stuff is available earlier,” Chakanyuka said. “When you get here later, it’s all messed up or gone.”

On Black Friday, WalMart sold LG Blu-Ray players for $108. They are normally $170. Target sold the Nintendo Wii Fit plus Bundle, normally priced at $150, for $67.

Kohl’s marked a 5-piece Prodigy Hudson luggage set down from $200 to $40.

These deals drew 138 million during the weekend after Thanksgiving with the bulk of shopping on Friday, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Several newspapers, including the Chicago Sun-Times and the Virginian-Pilot, reported a significant increase in sales from last year to the relief of many retailers across the country.

“Last year, consumers were extremely into the basics: the socks, the pillows,” said Keith Jelinek, director of the global retail practice at consulting firm AlixPartners to the Chicago Sun-Times. “This year, they’re hungry to dress up their wardrobes, their homes.”

Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren told several newspapers there were 7,000 people lined up outside the Manhattan store, up 5,000 from last year.

Becky Blomenberg was out at 8 a.m. at Jefferson Pointe Mall in Fort Wayne with her mother to pick out Christmas presents.

“We went between the crazy early people and the main rush, so it wasn’t that bad,” Blomenberg said.

Blomenberg said she thinks Black Friday can become stressful, or even violent, because shoppers expect it to be that way. But she said it can be fun if simple manners are employed.

She and her mother have gone before, and she said they would go again in the future.
Chakanyuka was a little skeptical after her first Black Friday shopping trip.

“It’s tiring. I don’t know if I like it or if I’d ever want to go again,” Chakanyuka said.
Blomenberg said she believes half the thrill for shoppers is all the hype surrounding the day.

“America is very materialistic,” Blomenberg said. “Black Friday’s become a very American holiday.