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What do the record breaking sales numbers from Black Friday and Cyber-Monday say about the economy?
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3 Answers
I think it shows that our economy is still in a poor place. Sure people were spending, but they were also pepper spraying each other to get the very best deal possible. Record spending on the 2 days that are known for offering discounts only make me feel that people are really hurting to get as much for their money as possible.
Caty, you may be correct, but I don't think that the crowd crush for the early loss leader bargains is the whole story. It is a clever (?) way of manipulating the media into reporting the crowds. They put a hundred big screen tv's on sale for $80, spend only a very modest amount on advertising and crowds camp out the day before the sale. The violence is a sad reminder of the un-civilized portion of our society that remains in a dog-eat-dog fashion.
People were spending and it was far more than the professionals were predicting. Management was cautiously optimistic, but forecasts had been for something like 3.5 to 4% increase from last year's sales, when in fact it turned out to exceed even my own prediction of 6%, the actual increase year-over-year was 7%, at least that's what ABC News reported as of last Sunday.
I think Caty's outlook on it is the glass half-empty view, and perfectly valid.
However, I'll take the other side of the argument, and say that the wild rush to spend is actually a sign that consumers are tired of conserving/hoarding wealth, and used Black Friday as an excuse to let loose with their cash. Let's just hope that it lasts.
On people engaging in violence at these sales: It's been happening as long as I can remember: people ripping products out of the hands - and sometimes off the backs - of other shoppers. It's traditional holiday behavior in the US.
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