By: Katherine Booker, Talon Editor | Opinion
Black Friday is the unofficial start of Christmas season. People are out and about getting good deals on Christmas presents.
According to money.cnn.com, the name Black Friday became famous in 1961, when the term was coined by the police officers who had to deal with all the craziness.
In 2011 stores began opening at midnight Friday, according to huffingtonpost.com, which was considered extreme at the time.
In 2012 Walmart and other retailers started opening their doors at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
More and more stores began opening at 5 p.m. in 2014 on Thanksgiving Day.
This year Bass Pro Shop opened its doors at 8 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, while some stores are opening as early as 2 p.m.
These times seemed over the top and extreme when they were first announced, but as the years have gone on, the competitiveness of Black Friday has grown. Retailers now need to compete with, not only other retailers and their early opening times but, online shopping websites that have similar or even lower deals on the same items.
Now, on one hand, the retail worker in me was bothered by these numbers. On the other, the avid sales shopper in me was very excited.
The part that bothers me the most about sales being on Thanksgiving is that workers must leave their friends and family early to be at work. Many must come in hours before open to prepare for the sales.
I️ spoke with some of my coworkers at Kevin’s Fine Outdoor Gear and Apparel on how they feel about Black Friday sales starting to be on Thursday.
“I️ don’t mind them, but they should start at a reasonable time to let families enjoy Thanksgiving dinner and not have their worker feel rushed.” Kevin’s Employee Demi Nichols said. “I️ personally am glad that our work is closed on Thanksgiving.”
I think that having a set time for sales on Thanksgiving Day is okay too, as it gives those who do work in retail opportunities to shop before having to work Black Friday at their own jobs.
“There’s nothing wrong with a good sale but they shouldn’t advertise it as Black Friday if it isn’t just on Friday.” Sarah Lawrence said.
I️ also believe that it shouldn’t be called Black Friday if stores are going to be open on Thanksgiving Day advertising Black Friday sales on a Thursday.
Planning for Black Friday sales is stressful and time-consuming. For stores to have to plan for multiple days takes a lot of time and money with set up and hourly workers. Stores try to open as early as possible to get the most income and have the best sales, so shoppers come back the next year.
I think if stores are going to have sales on Thursdays they should be called Thanksgiving Day sales and keep Friday in Black Friday.
Katherine Booker is the editor for The Talon.
