shopping's day of doom

Black Friday Sounds Terrifying, As Usual

This holiday shopping season, which officially kicks off with Black Friday in a couple of days, is only expected to be marginally better than last season’s, which was the worst in about four decades. So understandably desperate stores are taking desperate measures to ensure they sell things to people this year. Kohl’s is opening at 4 a.m. Lord & Taylor will open at 5 a.m. instead of the usual 7 a.m. start time. Macy’s will also open at 5 a.m.

More stores will also open on Thanksgiving Day this season. According to a recent survey, of the up to 134 million consumers who will shop for gifts this weekend, 10 percent said they’d be willing to shop between midnight and 3 a.m. on Friday morning. So that means if there are ten people at your Thanksgiving dinner, one of them would be just dandy hitting the mall after the pie binge. We have never done such a thing, and certainly won’t cut back on our wine intake to do so this year, but your tales of Black Friday shopping doom, from this year or years past, are welcome in the comments. And for a list of Black Friday sales, see our comprehensive guide.

We’re off early today to get started on our sugar-, gluten-, fat-, carb-, and dairy-free pies for tomorrow’s feast. (Ha, kidding. As if we cook.) Have a happy Thanksgiving!

More shoppers plan Black Friday visits [Reuters]
Recession-era Black Friday Filled With Challenges [WWD]

Black Friday Sounds Terrifying, As Usual