Giant annual sales have been part of the American culture for some time now. Many shoppers are most active on thanksgiving, Cyber Monday, and Black Friday. The absurd shopping trend is informed by consumers’ assumption that most products are highly discounted during these periods. Unfortunately, giant annual sales are not always as good as they may seem.
Retailers rely on simple strategies to influence buying patterns during the giant annual sales. Some retailers sell at highly discounted prices to increase sales volume thereby making considerable profits by accumulating small profits from many items sold. Others mark down selected products hoping that as customers pick them, they will be taking other “normally” priced items thereby enabling them to make profits on the products with normal prices. These strategies are often successful in influencing customers to buy more items. The customers who succeed in getting limited discounted products only save if they do not buy other products. Even so, the savings margin is always very thin as most prices remain relatively the same. The following list shows the prices of items given by various stores on Black Friday against the prices of the same items on other days of the year.
It is clear from the above list that the prices of most products were considerably reduced during the Black Friday. However, these products were available in limited quantities as most online stores indicated “out of stock” as early as midday. Additionally, some products had very marginal discounts. Vanity Fair Bras is one of the products whose prices remained relatively the same in some online stores.
Black Friday has many disadvantages that have made a growing number of people to consider shopping on other days. The shopping frenzy makes many people buy items they do not need thereby ending up spending more money than necessary. Additionally, many items presented as highly discounted are often not and those that are highly discounted are low-end products. Another common problem with Black Friday shopping is its crowdedness. Many shoppers come out on the day to take advantage of available offers making shopping malls too crowded for comfort. Huge crowds not only make shopping uncomfortable but also increase the chances of contacting diseases, theft, and running into conflicts with arrogant shoppers. Lastly, the highly hyped discounted items are often limited and only early shoppers get them.
In conclusion, it is undisputable that giant annual sales are accompanied by significant price reductions. These reductions influence many people to buy more thereby ending up spending more money than they had planned. Worst still, many shoppers end up spending on products they do not need simply because the products are cheap. Taking advantage of price reduction is acceptable. However, indulging in impulse buying should not be promoted.