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This is the Year to End Black Friday
On Black Friday, large retail corporations hope we shop, shop and then shop some more. Despite the alarming spread of the coronavirus, many chain stores will be open for business. As proclaimed on retailmenot.com, “Black Friday is getting closer, and that means only one thing: time to start your holiday-shopping engines!”
You, of course, can shop for Black Friday deals online and stay safe. Stores are also limiting the number of customers in a store at any given time and mandating masks to promote safety.
There are, however, many reasons to not participate in this holiday dedicated to shopping whether online or in person. The hardships in 2020 have shone a spotlight on why we need to skip Black Friday and end it for good.
Many Americans are hurting financially this year yet still feel pressure to spend money shopping on Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) from pervasive advertising and consumer culture. In 2019, 44% of consumers took on debt during the holiday season with 78% not being able to pay it off in the January that followed. Over half didn’t plan on taking on debt but did. Unless spending patterns change, this year will be even worse.
Small Businesses
Small businesses have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 100,000 small businesses have permanently closed this year with many more expected to close before year’s end. Almost all small businesses have seen large declines in revenue this year. Meanwhile, stock market valuations of many large corporations are at or close to all-time highs. Black Friday mostly benefits large retail corporations like Target, Walmart and Amazon that can advertise widely and lower prices to razor thin margins. CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos’s wealth grew by 80% (from $113 billion to $203 billion) between March 18th and October 13th this year.
During a virtual meeting earlier this year of my local neighborhood association, a local hardware and variety store owner pleaded with the group to stop using Amazon and shop locally. She has been walking the talk by purchasing lunch from local restaurants for her employees and…
