Is Black Friday a customer deception?

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3 years ago

Black Friday in the world attracts a sea of shoppers to shopping malls, eager to shop at discounted prices and save some money. People save money all year round and look forward to discounts on Black Friday. Often the pictures are miles of lines in front of stores, waiting for stores to open, the crowds are huge. Therefore, this is the day of the year when a large turnover of money is realized. People then spend a large amount of money.

Black Friday is now known as a day when consumers can save big money on a variety of items, from appliances to shoes. Over the years, the amount spent on Black Friday has increased, with the total holiday shopping season of November and December seeing billions of dollars spent. In 2002, shoppers spent a total of $416.4 billion on holiday shopping. By 2019, that number was up 75%, to $730.2 billion.

A very interesting and exciting event that day, and let's see how Black Friday came about.


The Black Friday history

The day of the biggest discounts, which has its roots in America, where it is still the most popular today, is slowly but surely spreading around the world. "Black Friday" originates from America and is celebrated once a year, on the first Friday after Thanksgiving.

In fact, "Black Friday" was first associated with Friday, Sept. 24, 1869. Two speculators, Jay Gould and James Fisk created a boom and bust in gold prices. A stock market crash followed as prices fell 20%. The disruption in gold prices sent commodity prices plummeting 50%. Corruption in Tammany Hall allowed Gould and Fisk to escape without punishment.

With all the shopping activity that takes place the Friday after Thanksgiving, the day became one of the most profitable days of the year for retailers and businesses. Because accountants use black to signify profit when recording each day's book entries (and red to indicate a loss), the day became known as Black Friday—or the day when retailers see positive earnings and profits "in the black."


How does Black Friday deceive customers?

As the discounts lasted only a day, many customers grabbed the goods, at first sight, not wanting to drop them, but the consumer protection organization indicates that in that hurry, some of them may have fallen for the scam.

Traders and sellers make precise calculations before each sale and in order not to initiate discounts, they cannot profit.

It is possible for sellers to increase the price, so the one with the discount will actually be a completely regular price as on other days.

Keep in mind that this kind of sale definitely pays off for sellers, so they are by no means in the red. On the contrary, they generate huge revenues. So do not fall for the inscriptions 20%, 40%, 50% discount.

There are a lot of fraudulent advertisements, which citizens regularly complain about.

Before shopping and buying, every citizen must clearly check how much the goods cost before the discount and whether the purchase is worth it since there will be more announced seasonal discounts by the end of the year.

Since online shopping also brings with it certain pitfalls for consumers, they researched what to pay special attention to so that shopping, in the end, would not turn into an unpleasant experience.

The biggest mistake that customers make is that they don't see if they are on the original page of a certain brand, so they fall prey to offers within fake ads, which are placed primarily on social networks - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram... They leave their personal data to fake traders, including those strictly confidential from a bank card, which are then used by fraudsters from the Internet in other transactions.


Injuries during Black Friday

Despite attempts to control a crowd of customers, injuries are not uncommon, usually as a result of pushing and large crowds.

A large number of people have been waiting in lines in front of stores every year since the early hours of the morning to be the first to buy the desired products, and conflicts are so common that there is a site that tracks injuries and deaths in the United States on this day.

In the last 12 years, 44 separate incidents have been reported, resulting in 12 deaths and 117 injuries.

The majority of incidents (69 %) occurred in retail outlets, 20 percent at the entrance to the aisle, and 11 percent outside the store. The causes are different and are not limited to crowds, there were also shootings, stabs, punches, and even traffic accidents caused by drivers who fell asleep behind the wheel after a long day of shopping.

The first death was recorded in 2008 when a 34-year-old Walmart chain worker died when a crowd of angry customers broke down the front door and broke into the store. Four injuries were recorded in that incident, among them women in the eighth month of pregnancy.

In 2008, there was a shooting in a toy store in California, when two people were killed.

Black Friday in 2012 marked a tragic event, when a man, after a whole day of shopping and only three hours of sleep in a 24-hour period, caused a car accident in which his two daughters were killed. Namely, four daughters were "squeezed" on the seat intended for three, the victims did not have a seat belt, and a bigger tragedy was avoided by sheer luck. According to the police report, the third row of seats in the car was lowered so that the family could pack everything they bought that day.

In the last few years, injuries are even more common, people openly enter into physical conflict over the desired item from the store. You can find a bunch of videos on YouTube of people fighting and getting hurt during a stampede.


Tips for shopping during Black Friday

  • Check the prices before Black Friday and compare them with the prices on the day of the discount

  • Plan in advance what you need to buy

  • Don’t fall for discounts and don’t buy what you don’t need

  • When shopping online, take care to shop on verified sites

  • Beware of crowds and possible injuries during shopping.


What are your tips when shopping during Black Friday? Do you manage to buy something with a good discount?

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3 years ago

Comments

i'm intending to order something while it's black friday.

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3 years ago

Did you find something good?

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3 years ago

Now we also have Black Friday, unfortunately I live in a small town, so I can only buy something online

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3 years ago

Online shoping is a good option. You dont have to wait in line or to be there when is big crowd. This year we have covid 19, so it is better to stay home.

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3 years ago

Lately, I also buy something on Black Friday.Of course I checked the price beforehand.I also ordered products this Friday but this time I choose online selling because of corona virus.

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3 years ago

Good job. Shopping online is a good way to save yourself from the corona virus. I hope that as many people as possible will buy online and avoid crowds. How much discount did you get this year?

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3 years ago

How did "Black Friday" come about? Long queues form in the early morning in front of stores, and as customers grab for products that are at huge discounts that day, cheaper than any other day of the year, stamps are often created, which sometimes end tragically.

Injuries are so common that there is a site that records in one place all the accidents around the world, which were caused by Black Friday.I don't like Black Friday and sales, otherwise I'm not a shopaholic.

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3 years ago

Hahhaa site that records all accidents caused by Black Friday is awesome and really fun to watch. I didnt know that. I just watch on Youtube all kind of accidents during Black Friday

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3 years ago

I made sure it was! One year I saw a dress in an H&M store and it was exactly 22 euros. I waited for “Black Friday” to come in two days. A sticker was affixed to the same dress, saying that it allegedly cost 30 euros before that, and was reduced to as much as 21.99. Pure nonsense and deception of people who do not follow the prices.

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3 years ago

hahaha they sold it more expensive on Black Friday than on a regular day. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case and I believe sellers are misleading buyers that way. Some people don’t get to check the prices earlier and then buy thinking they got a good price. There should be an inspection that does its job well and prevents such scams.

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3 years ago

Of course, the inspection needs to do its part, but unfortunately this rarely happens in our country. For some people, it is enough to just see a sale advertisement or to scratch a lottery ticket with an alleged discount and that's it, bought :) We can influence some things maybe, but the mentality is hard work :)

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3 years ago

I know that there are some rules that, if violated, are subject to market inspection, but I think that the inspection does not do its job well and all these deceptions go unpunished. Citizens need to be aware and report fraud by sellers themselves. It is a pity that citizens do not pay attention and do not think, and thus fall prey to false discounts.

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3 years ago

Exactly. When they don't know, they can't even report

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3 years ago

We don't have black friday in my country but we do have season ender sales and season opening sales. That's twice a year and it's not as bad as that black friday sale ;;-;; goodness, for people to die for a sale is beyond me

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3 years ago

There is Black Friday in Serbia, but the discounts are not as big as in other richer European countries. It often happens that prices are increased and then given to us as a discount. It happens that it says 20%, 30% discount, but when you take calculation on your own, it's not like that at all. Therefore, I believe that this Black Friday in Serbia is just a marketing ploy and attracting customers.

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3 years ago

Isn't it usually like that though? Unless of course, you buy from places you frequent in? Like certain boutiques and such then you would be able to tell the difference more. That's what i do whenever there's a sale, i always go to the shops i frequent more then just take note of prices

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3 years ago

I just think that in America and in more developed European countries these discounts are better. If we have time, it is certainly good to find out about prices in time.

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3 years ago

I guess mostly in America because i heard from my relatives about how often and how big the discount prices are during black friday. That's why they mostly do vlothes shopping during those times

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3 years ago

They used to show footage of US malls during Black Friday in my country because we didn't have that tradition. Now that we have it, I mostly stay away from stores at that time of year. There are always ways to buy what you want at a good price without risking bodily harm. Besides I prefer doing my research on what I want to buy and waiting for a good opportunity for that product to hit the price I am willing to buy it.

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3 years ago

You are absolutely right. I don't like pushing myself in such crazy crowds either. Now there’s covid 19, so there’s a good chance the virus is spreading. I don't want to risk getting sick. In this case, online shopping is a good solution.

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3 years ago