Posted on 11/25/2011 5:36:23 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Probably so. I am not old enough for that.....at least I was not interested in politics at that time.
And beating each other senseless for sale items is just about the furthest thing I can imagine from a sign of “recovery”. It’s a clear symptom of the early stages of societal breakdown.
152 million shoppers, half a dozen incidents, really driving to work monday is probably more dangerous. But we’re gonna do it anyway.
These days black friday is really over by 9 or 10 in the morning. The door busters have turned it from an all day marathon to a morning sprint. Which is nice if it turns out you actually need to go to a store for something useful like soap.
Yeah, but the spinning of cliqued reasoning I guess is easy to fall for when you’re not actually paying attention to what is. I’m not a doomsayer, but it’s obvious we’re in a whole new economic environment and behavior is going to change accordingly.
That may be true....But I can damn well guarantee after watching todays market action...the consensus...Market commentators..(not the real market) will find it.. “better then expected!”
Wife went out for some fabric and there wasn’t too much traffic after 10:00 am. Probably all the super sales were gone by then. My guess is that sales (despite the spin) will be down this year. All the people I have seen shopping have been buying necessities and bargains only. True test is how many stores fold after Christmas.
‘with 152 million shoppers expected’——
‘expected’ by who? That’s HALF of the U.S. population.
HOGWASH.
Only the Unions and Fed employee’s are off today, the rest are children or are unemployed....
-——Symptom of a Capitalistic society. I am thrilled that it appears people are spending again. That is good for the economy and we need it to improve.-——
Black friday is but one day snapshot..... The operative word you used is “appears”
One day does not make a season .....I think many retailers had their one big day and the rest of the year will be cautious at best
I know I am doing all my shopping on line this year.....
“We wont know anything until early next week, but Im guessing the numbers that actually matter are going to be dismal. Although Im sure that the AP will find a way to spin a happy face on them.”
Bearishly agreeing with you.
When you take away the nearly 30% of Americans under the age of 14, you’re left with roughly 240 million potential “shoppers”. So according to this, roughly 65% of all Americans over the age of 14 were out shopping today.
The only way that number is even remotely possible is if “shoppers” are defined as anyone participating in retail commerce. Buy a gallon of milk, you’re a shopper. Pack of smokes, you’re a shopper. Fill up your tank, you’re a shopper too. By that standard, there are probably between 130 and 140 million shoppers on every business day of the year.
152 million? I find that hard to believe...
My husband and I own an antique shop. I’ve been a business owner for 24 years and I have always had a Christmas Open House the two days after Thanksgiving. Over the years, we’ve built up a good regular customer base of people that come from everywhere (mostly coming home to visit family). October & November have been slower than the last few years, which have been slower than before.
Today, we had the Open House. There were not as many people as last year, and a lot of my regular travelers were missing. Maybe they’ll show up tomorrow. Money-wise, our sales were OK - nothing to brag about, but we did OK. I know a lot of small business owners (was president of our local merchant’s association for years) that are hanging on by their fingernails. If they don’t have a good Christmas season, I know several that will close. It’s sad to see.
You should of offered some antique flat screen TVs at bargain prices to draw them in. Just sayin’.
Read the thread first...
Hey, I had homemade cookies!
“Which is nice if it turns out you actually need to go to a store for something useful like soap.”
You might be on to something. These mad dash events tend to scare away other shoppers so maybe this start at midnight thing is about clearing those guys out quickly.
“I spent the better part of the day stripping copper wire, cutting copper pipe joints, and stripping aluminum windows. My haul from a years work of rehabbing various projects.The wife use to complain about my stash until I showed her the check! She participates in the collection and cleaning nowadays.I love my wife!”
Awesome! Well done!!
Black Friday Spending Flat
Lamestream media in this country is so horrible (including Fox). How do they know what the total shopping revenue is when the f'ing day isn't over yet ?
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