Black and Blue Friday

By LESLIE DINABERG — Nov. 30, 2009

My mom, my sister and I have a longstanding Black Friday shopping tradition—which doesn’t include getting up at the crack of dawn with all the crazy doorbusters armed with ad circulars, shin guards and Purell. The 6 a.m. bargains may be great but we’ll still be sleeping off our turkey hangovers till at least 10 a.m., and will make our way over to the mall at the more civilized hour of 11 a.m.-ish. By then, the early morning bargain hunters will have exhausted themselves and be clearing out of the prime parking spots just in time for our Black Friday festivities.

While Hurricane Consumer wafts its way through downtown Santa Barbara, we’ll be sipping our lattes and people watching. Sure, the promise of $5 Fleeces at Old Navy and $19.99 DVD Players at Macy’s might lure us into the stores for a minute or two, but mostly we’ll be there to marvel at the frenzied shoppers and chat with old friends who have come to town for the holidays.

Black Friday—which, for those of you miraculously untouched by the incessant newspaper, television, radio and Internet ads, is the Friday after Thanksgiving and the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season—will be looking a little bruised this year, if my unscientific survey of my friends’ shopping plans is any indication.

When I asked if they planned to head for the stores or head for the hills this Friday, an overwhelming majority said they’d avoid the shops like the plague. “There is no way that anyone is dragging me into the throngs of crazed shoppers,” said Tammy. Angie said her family has strict rules not to leave the house the day after Thanksgiving. “Stay home and enjoy your family, not the malls.... they are there all year round,” she advised.

While some just hate the crowds, others have a more philosophical objection to shopping on Black Friday. “I can't think of a better way to wipe out any feelings of gratitude than to go to the mall,” said Carly.

Dave said his parents flavored his lack of enthusiasm for the shopping tradition. “I was raised by ‘I don't even want to THINK about the traffic!’ on one side and ‘You shouldn't have to wait in line for someone to take money from you,’ on the other,” he said.

So who are these people frothing at the mouth to bargain shop on Black Friday? The National Retail Federation said it expects 134 million people to be out shopping between Friday and Sunday, with 57 million “definitely” heading out to stores on the day after Thanksgiving. This is up from 49 million in 2008, according to a survey by the NRF, who reported an additional 77 million people said they would wait to decide after seeing the weekend deals.

A report by the International Council of Shopping Centers showed 26 percent of US households be will out shopping on Friday, including 36 percent of consumers aged between 18 and 34 years old. Out of those people, they predict one-third will be at the stores for early-bird specials between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m.

Wow. I’ll be thinking of them when I hit the snooze button on the $2.99 doorbuster sale-priced bright yellow happy faced alarm clock I bought late in the afternoon on Black Friday last year.

When Leslie’s not hunting lazily for bargains, she can be reached at Leslie@LeslieDinaberg.com. For more columns visit www.LeslieDinaberg.com.

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Should I mark my Calander... : 11/27/2009

Is November 60th always black Friday? I want to get to the PR Store to buy cop stuff!!!

Boycott Boy

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