We all know that Thanksgiving is actually just an excuse for
Black Friday shoppers to carbo-load before a grueling day. While market
analysts and retail executives spent Thanksgiving worrying about customer turnout,
shoppers inhaled their turkey and cranberries at lightning speeds to go “bust
down” some doors at 5 am, proving that enough carbs and caffeine can boost a
nation’s energy and its economy, but only briefly. Even though Black Friday
2008 drew more shoppers to stores than in previous years, the caffeine high of
the weekend wore-off by Cyber
Monday, which returned rather dismal results.  Cyber Monday normally sees a huge spike in
online shopping from people *hopefully* on their lunch breaks at work, however
this year sales were down 4%.

While Black Friday celebrates the monotony of chain retail
stores, it also encourages unique traditions that vary from family to family
and place to place–something that the world of cyber shopping just can’t
provide. Aspen,
Colorado for example, disregards extended store hours in order to accommodate
the relaxed shopping habits of its local clientele. Instead, local stores offer
deeper discounts during their normal business hours. The state of South
Carolina takes it a step further and caters the day to specific items in
demand.  This past weekend, the state
offered tax breaks to consumers buying guns during what is affectionately
referred to as “Second
Amendment Weekend.”

Continue reading “Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday: A Question of Geography?”