Black Friday Becomes. . .Gray Thursday?

Can you believe it's Walking Dead time in the stores again?
Image from source, USAToday

I did "Black Friday" only once. It was a bust for me, because the stores I happened to be interested in really weren't doing much. Lowe's and Home Depot didn't have throngs, at least not the year I tried it. I'm more apt to try Cyber Monday or other online specials. But some people have turned Black Friday into part of their holiday traditions.

In an effort to capitalize on the demand, and make up for a "shortened" shopping season (due to Thanksgiving being so late in the month this year), big stores like Walmart are jumping the gun further than ever, moving the starts of their big shopping events into dinnertime, and even all the way to dawn, Thanksgiving morning. I get the impulse, but I think they're really potentially defusing their own manufactured tradition. By spreading it out, and bleeding over an especially cherished holiday, they're going to alienate some, make family pariahs of others, and cause confusion about where to go, when. I'm sure there will be some savvy shoppers linked up with cell phones and iPads, networking with friends and family, and scheduling an all-day, all-night blitz. But no way your average shopper is going to do that.

I think they've muddied the concept, and are shooting themselves in the foot.

[Excerpt]

Walmart to launch Black Friday sales earlier

As the holiday shopping season kicks off, Walmart is the latest major retailer to announce an even earlier launch to annual Black Friday weekend sales — beginning at dinnertime Thanksgiving evening. Following a slew of similar announcements from stores including Target, Best Buy and Macy's, Walmart said today that it will hold two major sales events at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday evening, two hours earlier than last year. . .

Read more at: USA Today