It’s time we address what is really causing Black Friday to go to rubbish: greed. Stores and shopping sites these days are getting too greedy for their own gain, and for the consumer’s pockets it’s not looking good. The truth is “Black Friday” used to just be that, Friday, not a week long sale. Sale days like the new Cyber Monday, Travel Tuesday, and Small Business Saturday are all decreasing the quality of the previous one day only sale. Stores and retailers are now having to spread their sales over a week, making their “sale” prices tumble down a steep slope. 

Customers are enraged by the deceptive, lacking, and almost insulting “discounts” that retailers have been offering during these “Black Weeks”. Deals are no longer one day of 80 percent, 70 percent, or 50 percent off sales. Instead they are now insulting deals like 20 percent off, free shipping, or even getting 10 dollars off when you spend 60 dollars or more. Some are relating these terrible deals to deals like a labor day sale or a new years sale. Consumers are taking to tiktok to express their concerns about Black Friday dying out, the causes, and reminiscing about what Black Friday used to be.

Black Friday used to be one day of pure chaos. People would camp out, leave their kids at home, and bundle up, all for the probability of a good deal. It’s just not worth it anymore. If deals are going to be garbage in stores, the stores are going to be just as busy, and it’s going to be just as cold, people are going to continue to turn to deals online. Companies are ceasing the opportunity to take on online sales, as they are more accessible, especially to people who don’t have access to their retail stores. But instead of still just sticking to one day online, retailers are beginning black friday sales 2-3 weeks early. This is exactly what is eating away at Black Friday. Extending sale times means cutting sales short and screwing over the consumer. Free shipping is an insult of a deal to consumers, along with the numerous other awful deals that these companies are offering. But, consumers still buy, even with the garbage deals, because they remember the nostalgia of Black Friday and consumerism runs wild. What I think will solve this is a revolution, consumers need to take back control and make Black Friday what it used to be, one day of pure chaos and extreme savings. We cease letting these companies have control over the deals if we stop shopping online and treat the day as it once was, one day.