Grasshopper New Media Presents...

The day after Thanksgiving was a tradition in our house growing up. Each year on “Black Friday” (I wrote a post last year about the significance of this term) my mother would drop my sister and I off “downtown” to do our annual winter clothes shopping. I suppose when we were younger, she accompanied us but my memories are of the two of us clutching a purse full of dollars and running into Saks to splurge on the annual “1st day of Christmas shopping” sales.

Years later, as parents, we continue this tradition, though we find ourselves more frequently cruising the aisles of Wal-Mart and seeking out deals on children’s boots and hoodies. Since our bi-coastal relationship dictates that we see each other only once per year, the annual shopping trip has become an even more cherished tradition. We long for it. We save for it. We leave the kids home with dad and go out to dinner afterwards.

And so, when I heard that Wal-Mart and other retailers, had moved the first shopping day of Christmas to November 2nd, fearing that the various economic crisis we currently face would turn this year into a Grinch-inspired Christmas, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.

“We can’t do our annual shopping day, this year, Sis.” I said.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you coming out here for Thanksgiving?”

“Yes,” I responded, “but it won’t be the same since the first day of Christmas shopping has been moved up by 3 weeks.”

“Oh, for goodness sakes!”

My sister is less sentimental than I am. Nevertheless, what Wal-Mart bills as a “secret in-store special” sales is fooling anyone….least of all the mainstream media which has joyfully broadcast it as “moving up Black Friday”.

While consumers snapped up the DVDs, HDTVs, and laptops on Friday, I seriously doubt that this ploy will trick the average consumer into rushing out to complete his or her Christmas shopping. Though major retailers are seriously worried about holiday sales, we consumers are too well trained. We too are worried about where the money will come from this Christmas…what with gas prices, health care and now food taking a bigger and bigger chunk of our paychecks.

And so we will do what retailers have trained us to do… we’ll wait. And wait. And wait. Sure we’ll snap up any great offers but we know who will win this game of chicken. Come early December, retailers will be concerned and drop prices on lots of goods. Come the week before Christmas, they’ll drop them even further as full on panic sets in. And…. the new tradition in my house has become…Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. You get the best bargains then!

by MC Milker

[tags]shopping, holiday, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, gifts, shopping, Target, Saks Fifth Avenue, Wal-Mart, bargains, shopping season, stress, family, economy, economics[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by The Rocketeer, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved