Chillie Journal weighs in on the spending-driven day and asks, is Black Friday really all that bleak?
The winter months can bring a lot of negative things into our lives family tension, overeating and don’t forget the waves of seasonal affective disorder which seem to intensify with every 3pm sunset. But one of the most hotly contested social pressures of every holiday season is the intense pressure from seemingly every media outlet to spend money.
Black Friday, another adopted tradition from across the Atlantic, originally a one day event after Thanksgiving where you’d be subjected to mildly entertaining news footage of fistfights over plasma TV’s in a Walmart. The term ‘Black Friday’ has it’s origins all the way back in 1869, and was used to memorialise a particularly destitute day in financial history, when a gold-buying conspiracy failed, causing the stock market to nosedive.
But now it’s turned into a festive multi-week spendathon. The day has also paved the way for other shopping-centric events such as Cyber Monday, usually (you guessed it) the Monday following Black Friday, after you’ve come down from the Bargain hunting-induced high and cried a few times over your bank statement and you’ve decided you’re ready to go into round two. But now most shops and e-commerce names opt to combine both days into one; holding reductions and special prices for the entirety of November all in the name of Black Friday.
Understandably, the now seemingly global push to set everyone on a spending spree has been met with some considerable opposition, most notably from environmentalists and sustainability advocates who understandably reject the consumption-driven nature of Black Friday. Truly, you find yourself dropped into a herd mentality where you’re encouraged by a nonstop barrage of marketing to buy things that at times you don’t really want or need because of the created urgency of these so called bargain prices.
This year many independent businesses are even going one step further and completely boycotting the event in entirety. The Guardian predicted that 85% - the highest figure ever recorded - of small retailers across the UK are planning on either completely shutting down their websites or donating all or a portion of profits made over Black Friday weekend to charity.
Now don’t get us wrong, we love seeing fellow small businesses going against the grain, making their own rules and doing things their way. But we just can’t ignore one of the few positives in the midst of of Black Friday negativity – it makes beautiful things - in our case expertly curated, cool and top quality vintage fashion – more accessible to the masses. Think about it, if there’s something you’ve really wanted for ages, you’ve been dreaming of owning but it’s just slightly out of your budget, you’d jump at the chance to get your hands on it at a lower price, right?
So, we’re rethinking Black Friday at Chillie London with our simple tips for Black Friday Hunting. Make a Wishlist, and stick to it; preferably a few weeks or months in advance, if you’ve got a clear idea of what you’re looking for you’ll be less likely to cross into frantic buying territory. Know your stuff: Larger retailers will use the sneakiest of subliminal marketing tricks to trigger impulse buys – don’t fall for it! Ask yourself: ‘Do I really want this?’ – make sure you’re buying things you genuinely want and will want in the new year – the price reduction is just a final push towards the checkout, don’t buy something just because it’s slightly cheaper. And most importantly, check out Chillie London’s Black Friday edit (Insert link); get something fabulous and save money, that’s what we call a win win…
Happy shopping!
