More companies are doing a Black Friday weekend which I think is a good idea. Most people can't face the crowds or it puts them off, so does having a weekend of offers make you more likely to shop? So far I haven't seen much, but as most companies are doing Black Friday weeks as well, I am seeing if they have any last minute deals. Most companies know people are busy, so this does enable them to reach more people for longer.
I'm sticking to shopping online. If i have some free time I might drive around and see how the shops look but I am not going to stress out in big crowds. That is not what the holidays are about. Plus I've done at least 50% of my shopping already.
I was really surprised when I went shopping on Saturday how slow the mall was. I mean it wasn't dead, but I have seen more traffic on an average Saturday there. It was good because it made it easy to get a parking place for shopping. The exception was the Chickfilet restaurant, that place was packed!!
Maybe people just don't have much disposable cash, I know that applies to me LOL But on a serious note; I wish we had black Friday sales over here too. I don't remember them being in England, do they now have them over there now, @Theo? I've not been back there in two years.
Many stores in the UK are catching on as a means to off load bought in stock, but there have been some discounts, but not in the region of the US. I compared The Body Shop, UK and US online sites and the US one had much better offers than the UK. In the UK it was 40% off most things and free shipping over a fiver. In the US they had a deal for 3 items for $36 and there was a good choice too. I think most have used the event to do their Christmas shopping, but there are less Cyber Monday sales here in the UK.
Thanks for the explanation, @Theo I do sometimes wonder if anywhere does better sales than the US? They always seem to do everything bigger and better. But I reckon over time the UK will catch up. I do miss the sales in the UK, because we get even less in Botswana
I definitely didn't venture out. I had less money this year anyway, so shopping has automatically decreased, and the weather wasn't the greatest, which means the already crazy drivers would be worse than usual. I saw one mention on the news of a brawl in Kentucky, but didn't see as many problems mentioned as I usually do, so perhaps shopping in person has slowed down. I wonder if the threats of ISIS have had an impact, as well?
I think you could be right there - as although “ Black Friday “ is a relatively new trend where I live and has had an enormous turn out in previous years - the threats certainly had an impact here - as it was apparently - according to all the news channels - extremely disappointing and hardly worth the effort this year - as most places were virtually deserted - which I have to say was not only hardly surprising but also extremely sensible - considering the fact that we're currently on red alert for terrorist attacks and everybody has been warned to stay away from highly populated areas that could be likely targets. Which unfortunately - as there is a very real possibility of a terrorist attack happening any time from now right up to mid January when the last of the festivities are due to end - may also have a serious effect on Christmas shopping - which traditionally starts here on 10th December - especially as its generally a time when most retailers make a large amount of their profit.
Where are you located, @gata montes? I figured the combination of Christmas being a Christian holiday/holy day and the Western tradition of big profits at the holiday sales and/or celebrations could be too big of a temptation for them to pass up. I don't go to crowded venues anyway, but am glad nothing has occurred so far, at least that I'm aware of. We had a cruise ship stuck out in the Bay recently due to fog, and I started thinking what a target that would be. I wish there was a way to eliminate the threat. I certainly hope that Christmas isn't tainted by further attacks. Like you, I haven't heard much about successful sales/large profits, and it seems most companies/shops I'm subscribed with are extending it to a Cyber Monday Week-type event, which leads me to believe receipts were down from past years.
Yes sadly religious holidays and tourist seasons do appear to be a favorite time for terrorists to strike and looks to be even more tempting this year - especially as the threat of possible attack appears to be almost worldwide - unfortunately here - with the current red alert and public warnings to stay away from highly populated areas - combined with the warning to tourists not to visit whilst we are at high risk of indiscriminate terrorist attacks - it is I think, very likely to have quite a knock on effect and possibly even a big impact economically - particularly as - a large majority of businesses - most of which are family run - rely heavily on the profit made from the large influx of tourists that we generally have right through December and well into January. Ours was a week-end type event too and although its is rumored that online sales were slightly up on last year and significantly better than those in brick and mortar stores - as they unexpectedly extended Cyber Monday deals to carry on until midnight Tuesday - it kind of says to me - that the results were not quite as good as they said they were and to be honest - having had a look at what was on offer - most of the deals - apart from a few Microsoft ones - were extremely disappointing and not very enticing - especially as many weren't even as good as at other times of the year. Either way all we can do is hope and pray that the terrorists don't give into the temptation to kill innocent people - at what is generally regarded as a family orientated time of year and that everyone gets to enjoy the festivities without any misfortune.