As the end of the year rolls around, people prepare themselves for the holidays. Ever since a party with some Pilgrims and Native Americans, Thanksgiving has been a widely celebrated holiday across America. When Thanksgiving is approaching most people look forward to their family members visiting, a giant turkey on their table, or their aunt’s famous mac and cheese. Although I dream about the taste my mom’s homemade stuffing or my killer apple pie recipe, the thing I look forward to most is what comes the day after.
Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, is something that my sister and I never miss. Like many other experienced Black Friday shoppers, we wake up as early as we can and head over to our favorite shopping centers. This year we drove out to Perimeter and Lennox Mall with a friend of mine and searched for the sales.
Most people hear about Black Friday from the countless commercials that air the week before. Large stores like Target and Best Buy open as early as Thursday night with extreme discounts. People will camp out by the doors the night before, and some smart shoppers even dress like employees to get closer to the front when the store opens.
For those who miss all the advertisements, there is usually some televised news about the violent outbreaks caused by crazed shoppers. There are stories of people being stabbed, trampled, punched, and sprayed with Pepper Spray. Several years ago a stampede of customers at Walmart caused the death of one of the shoppers. This year there was a viral video recorded by a customer of a fight over a television between two women that led to one being tackled and apprehended by two police officers.
From all this chaos, Black Friday tends to get a bad reputation, but when you’ve been Black Friday shopping before, you know not to go to Walmart. My favorite shopping center in Atlanta to go to on Black Friday is Perimeter Mall, but where you shop depends on what stores you like and what you want to buy. Some people go hunting for the latest electronics at Best Buy or Apple, discounted appliances for their home from Sears, or gifts for friends and family on Christmas. People like me search for new additions to stuff into their closet.
Everyone has their own idea of what they want to spend their Black Friday budget on, but no matter what shopping area you go to, you must have a strategy. Knowing exactly what stores you are going to visit is definitely helpful when it comes to planning out your shopping spree, but to maximize your Black Friday experience, you’re going to have to do your homework.
For each of the stores you would like to visit, you should know what time they open and what sales you should expect to see. Many clothing stores have special sales, but only for a limited amount of time. Stores sometimes offer discounts on everything in the store, but only for a limited amount of time, so you have to get there early enough to get in on the sales. This year I slacked on the amount of preparation I did before Black Friday, so I missed out on a huge discount at one of my favorite stores that only lasted until 9 o’clock.
Another thing that can be extremely helpful is knowing exactly what you want to buy. This can help you avoid wasting time and it especially comes in handy for people who want to buy electronics. Black Friday is not the day to go browsing around, trying out different tablets or cell phones. Know what you want, get in and get out, because before you know it the item you want could be sold out.
Black Friday is definitely a shopping experience like no other, but it is always fun, and I get amazing deals. Even if I only get a new sweater and a pair of shoes, I feel accomplished because it feels good to save money. Hopefully I can continue the tradition on the best shopping day of the year, and save even more. All I know is that next year the Thanksgiving turkey isn’t the only reason I’ll be going to sleep early.
