Arguing over who made it in line first and fighting over the last pair of shoes filled shopping malls back when Black Friday shopping was a national event of chaos. Over the past few years, the nostalgic festivity that follows Thanksgiving has lost its popularity. For some, including myself, it’s still something that I love to celebrate. Yet, others nowadays don’t even know what it is. It’s crazy to me how something that used to be so anticipated, causing people to form lines at three in the morning just to grab one item, has now turned to something forgotten.
Even though I’m still obsessed with what I consider a holiday, some people just don’t feel the same. In my family, we have the tradition of waking up around 4 a.m., driving up to the San Marcos Premium Outlets, and spending all day up there. The whole idea of going to “shop till I drop” excites me since the amount of money I’ll spend is unknown. After talking to a few of my friends, I’ve heard that some are just as eager as me to feel the thrill that used to be felt in 2016 over making it to the store in time before an item on your wish list sells out.
Now, I understand why the whole excitement has been lost, since stores and websites have been putting their sales up a whole week or two earlier. The week before Black Friday, I drove by Walmart and saw 55 reserved parking spots for Black Friday shoppers to drive by and receive their online orders When I saw those parking spots, half of me was disappointed in how we’ve lost the spirit of going in-person, transitioning to now just pulling into a parking spot for an employee to put your purchases in your car for you. The other half understood why though, since Walmart and other stores that are online have their deals up before the actual day, instead of the one-day door-buster discount prices we used to have.
Besides me being a shopping fanatic, I’m also disappointed in the stores for not dropping the prices as low as before. Sometimes, it makes me wonder if they don’t even drop the prices at all and claim that the original price of an item was higher. Before, we used to have discounts up to 70% off on items and now, we are only getting the buy one get one 20% off deal. I can definitely see this being the root of the disappearance of the shopping event since nothing is being discounted like it used to.
As for me, I will still find a way to get a lower price and find myself a steal. Generally, I find outlets to be cheaper than malls, so on Black Friday, when the pricing is even lower, it’s optimal for me to enjoy myself. I’m still disappointed at how we’ve let go of a festivity that used to be so fun and thrilling, but I still think we can revive it by decreasing the prices of those items people love even more. Yet, I’m still a little bitter that some people don’t even know what it is since it’s still a big deal in my heart. Safe to say, I will keep the holiday alive, one purchase at a time.
