Well, the annual bacchanalia of holiday bargains has come and gone. Whether it was the standard grab-for-the-goodies frenzy or a ho-hum just another day depended to a large degree on where in the country you are located.
As predicted, some of the oomph of the post-Thanksgiving spree has eased, with fewer shoppers willing to brave the early hours and crowds, reports from around the country indicate. In some locales, demonstrators piggy-backed on the opportunity to attract a crowd. And some people opted to stay home and peruse the ads in newspapers or online before making spending decisions.
Bottom line, according to an Associated Press rundown, crowds this year seemed to be smaller than in the past. But there were variations on the theme in some places.
Colorado
In Colorado, which legalized marijuana recently, discounted weed and specially wrapped holiday combinations were on sale for the Black Friday crowd. In traditionally snowy Denver weather, some crowds lined up and braved the cold to get in on the weed deals.
Chicago
Some Chicagoans linked arms and tried to block traffic into stores in protest of the shooting of a teenager in their city. In some of the stores, employees safely ushered shoppers out of side doors to prevent possible clashes with the protestors. Some of the shoppers took it all in stride and used their smartphones to photograph the event.
Kansas City
Some shoppers who have reveled in the competition and excitement of Black Fridays past were actually disappointed to find themselves in stores without crowds. One woman in Kansas City listlessly shuffled through racks of clothing and wondered where the fun went.
Arizona
In sunny Arizona, people told news reporters they preferred hiking in the saguaro-studded hills rubbing elbows with crowds of shoppers. For some like-minded non-shoppers, it was an opportunity to impress upon children the true meaning of the holidays, one Tucson mother was reported as saying.
Online
As technology takes over more and more of the country’s shopping functions, the experts reported that – as predicted- more retail shoppers used their phones than their desktop computers to order goods. The option of sitting at home quietly digesting the Thanksgiving turkey while ordering online rather than facing the mobs in stores, seemed to make even more inroads into the Black Friday events.
Big Retailers
Even with the slight slackening of Black Friday traffic, some of the nation’s biggest retailers reported brisk sales. WalMart reps reported that its stores dotting the country saw increased sales this year, both in the stores and online, over last year. Ditto Target, which racked up a record in online sales, particularly electronics. Business in Target’s stores also was satisfactory, spokesmen said. Penneys put considerable effort pre-season into making its apps more user-friendly and said the results were good. It was apparent that many shoppers were researching online then going to the stores for purchases, a spokesperson said.
Black Friday may be losing a little of its luster, but don’t count it out yet as a holiday event of great magnitude.