There’s A Movement To Boycott Black Friday Shopping

For many years now, there has been a movement to encourage the populace to stop shopping for those deep discounts and deals on the busiest shopping day of the year, Black Friday.

I've been curious where the idea came from, figuring it was some sort of anti-capitalist political movement, but I was wrong. Turns out, it's a collective of people that work in retail that would also enjoy having the day after Thanksgiving off.

Before you hop on some rant about "$15 an hour" this and "Get a better job" that, people that have never worked in retail just can't relate. If you think about it hard enough though, there's a little empathy to flow there. Imagine not having the day after Thanksgiving as one of your standard holidays off. Drive to have the family meal, eat that huge meal, then drive all the way back home that same day, early to bed so you can be at work ready to open doors at 4AM the next day.

Just as the overreaching business closures in Lawton taught us in 2020, retail workers are essential employees we just can't do without.

I have a sister that works in retail. In fact, both she and her husband work in retail. Each year when the holidays roll around, we only get one day actually together as a family. I'm lucky enough to get a four-day weekend, but they only get the one day and it sucks. I've never been to a Black Friday shopping event, but even if I did, I'd gladly give it up to have more family time, bickering and everything.

Besides that, while you may score a good deal, the real winners are the retailers. They've managed to convince people to compete with each other in a game of "How Fast Can We Give Money To This Company..." You can disagree with me on that, but it's marketing 101... Don't give people a good deal, give people the feeling they're getting a good deal.

While this "movement" has been around for a few years now, 2021 might just be the perfect year to make it happen. Most retailers have already released their Black Friday ads, and due to a year and a half-ish of pandemic plus the insane supply chain issues globally, nobody seems to have those deep discount deals on stuff you'd actually want this year. Honestly, who's going to stand in line to score a limited supply of $30 slow-cookers? I'd rather just pay the extra nine dollars and keep to my own schedule.

Sure, there are a (very) few electronics deals out there, but TV's and appliances are so cheap these days, those advertised deals aren't anything to get excited about.

It's a wonder why this traditional shopping day hasn't just moved everything online at this point, especially after last year. This way everyone wins. People get their deals on cheap stuff, businesses make their profit margins on that ultra-cheap stuff, and our fellow countrymen get an additional and traditional day off work. It's a win-win.

Give it some thought.