Thanksgiving is one of the most anticipated holidays of the year. Between the immense amount of delectable food and collection of family traditions, Thanksgiving is a well-rounded holiday that most Americans look forward to. Along with love for turkey, gravy and stuffing, there is also a love for shopping on either Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving or Cyber Monday, the monday after Black Friday.

            Black Friday is famous for chaotic crowds lining up at stores around two or three in the morning just to be within the first group let in a specific store.

            “This was my first time Black Friday shopping. I went to the mall and there were so many people there. In the smaller stores, there was hardly any room,” explained senior Alyssa Morford

            Black Friday has had a history of one of a kind deals and being the starting point for one’s Christmas shopping.

            “A lot of people like to save money and they take advantage of the deals stores offer,” explained senior Joseph Ballesteros.

            Black Friday in the United States has spread to other countries such as Canada in the last few years. Stores, such as Target, opened at 4 a.m. this past Black Friday, with the exception of a few that opened even earlier. It is not a national holiday, but Black Friday is thought of to be a significant date after the success rate was evaluated.

            “I think that the stores make money but sometimes on Black Friday but people tend to buy things they don’t need,” said junior Kristen Hiatt.

            The name Black Friday relates to the period during which retailers are turning a profit, or “in the black.” Black Friday can potentially create a large profit for every store that is willing to open their doors at 4 a.m. It also creates an unbelievable amount of competition between stores to offer customers the best deal possible and to open the earliest.

            “This past Black Friday, I went to Goodwill and everything in the store was 50% off,” said junior, Jesse Stedman.            

            This past year, Wal-Mart and Kmart were both open on Thanksgiving Day. Wal-Mart was open 24/7 leading up to the morning of Black Friday. The sale for Wal-Mart, however, began at 5 a.m. Other stores may feel a sense of competition with these kinds of stores that stay open 24/7 and are open on Thanksgiving.

            There is an evident question to why a person would want to wake up and stand in line the day after Thanksgiving. People who do not participate in Black Friday do not tend to fully understand the reasons and motives for the madness that Black Friday entails. There is the obvious reason that stores offer unbelievable deals that only last for a few short hours or the duration of that day. Headstarts can be made on Christmas shopping so families can worry about other aspects of Christmas other than just the presents.

            Besides the deals, some people participate in Black Friday only for the experience of chaos and the well- known crowds. There can be something exciting about waking up when the light is still dark outside after having a Thanksgiving dinner with family the night before and going shopping. The excitement that Black Friday offers is always evident even though each year continues to bring new sales and new shoppers. These new shoppers have the potential and possibility of being unpredictable.

            “I went to see what it was like. I didn’t have a special item in mind but I hoped to find a deal,” stated Morford.

             Crazy chaos every year on Black Friday, although thought to have been irreplaceable, offers an alternative to those who do not want to brave the traffic and crowds. This alternative is Cyber Monday.

            Cyber Monday creates another option to the insane Black Friday shopping. It offers similar and the same deals as Black Friday without the chaos. Cyber Monday shopping is done completely online and is less of a hassle than Black Friday to many online shoppers. It is one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. With technology becoming more and more present in our society, Cyber Monday creates a way to shop and save without dealing with lines and chaos.

            “I would online shop on Cyber Monday if there was a deal that I couldn’t get in the actual store,” stated Stedman.            

            Cyber Monday, however, may not offer the same amount of competition between stores that Black Friday does. Cyber Monday is not as well-known as Black Friday and therefore, stores would be more willing to offer deals in the store location rather then their website. However, more and more Americans are becoming invovled with online shopping so stores might be more willing to provide deals in the store and online.

            Black Friday and Cyber Monday are both effcetive in the market industry. Stores are willing to open their doors earlier and lower their prices tremendously. Stores are also willing to accustom themselves to the advances in online shopping by posting deals online for the infamous Cyber Monday.

            “I think both Cyber Monday and Black Friday are both affective because some places offer good deals, however, there can sometimes be misleading advertising,” said Morford. “It depends on what your looking for but I would get up and shop on Black Friday if I was looking for clothes so I could try them on. But anything else, such as electronics, I could but online.” 

            Whichever one chooses, Black Friday and Cyber Monday can each be beneficial to both the customer and the stores that offer deals on those days.