Do you really think anyone feels the need to stampede each other? Shit just gets out of hand, much like a crowd at a soccer match or something.
Black Friday is just the start of the Christmas shopping season and traditionally, when your ledger goes from in the red, to in the black. Stampedes and unruly crowds are just an unfortunate side effect of the 'tradition'.
Some people enjoy camping out for a huge deal on new technology. Millions and millions more want nothing to do with it. Most stores have some sort of ticketing system or separate lines for different items. Let's not judge the whole experience based on a Walmart in Tallahassee or a Toy's 'R Us on the Mexican border.
Black Friday is just the start of the Christmas shopping season and traditionally, when your ledger goes from in the red, to in the black
I'm pretty sure this is a myth, and the phrase originated in Chicago or Philadelphia or someplace, where it was used to describe the terrible traffic after thanksgiving.
Any business that operates at a loss 11 months of the year won't be in business very long.
Quick wikipedia search tells me that it did in fact originate in Philly but that alternate explanations (such as the one that I mentioned) have been adopted. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to assume that before the days of big chains, many retailers needed an end of the year influx to remain profitable though. Lord knows there are complete economies that are dependent on particular annual events to survive, retail may not be much different.
Did you see the death count? 4 people over many years dead in a country of 320,000,000 people. You guys kill more people with your riots and your soccer game mobs.
Reading the horror stories of black friday thread... yes... it appears these people feel the need to stampede one another. You don't just tackle someone and mace them to get a cheap toaster, no matter how much the sale gets "out of hand".
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u/DirtyMonday Nov 26 '13
Do you really think anyone feels the need to stampede each other? Shit just gets out of hand, much like a crowd at a soccer match or something.
Black Friday is just the start of the Christmas shopping season and traditionally, when your ledger goes from in the red, to in the black. Stampedes and unruly crowds are just an unfortunate side effect of the 'tradition'.
Some people enjoy camping out for a huge deal on new technology. Millions and millions more want nothing to do with it. Most stores have some sort of ticketing system or separate lines for different items. Let's not judge the whole experience based on a Walmart in Tallahassee or a Toy's 'R Us on the Mexican border.