For several years, we’ve all watched the Black Friday phenomenon, as more and more retailers have followed Walmart’s very visible lead by opening at truly ridiculous hours, for what? In order to achieve a big bump in low or zero margin sales in one day that get zeroed out in the ensuing weeks to Christmas? Or merely to deprive a competitor of the sale? The tactic certainly isn’t about building loyalty (unless you think knifings, fist fights, mini-riots, and parking lot robberies are part of your Brand experience to be savored by the buying public).

But what WAS a retail tactic became a societal issue when Walmart again led the way and announced that it would be open on Thanksgiving Day evening. For those outside of the United States, there might be a little confusion about what Thanksgiving really means to Americans. The U.S. is (ostensibly) a secular nation, and that day – our day of giving thanks for all the bounty we enjoy in our lives – is the closest thing we have to a moment that we all agree should be spent just being thankful for (and to) our family and friends. It harkens back to simpler times – America’s mythically idyllic past.

Well, “all agree ” except… Kmart! That retailer has reportedly been opening its doors on Thanksgiving for over 20 years (not reflected in annual performance, apparently). But give it to the leader: Walmart gets the nod for really letting Black Friday dribble into Thanksgiving Day, and a bunch of other retailers have followed suit. Not having spoken to anyone there, I can still imagine a response like, “Back off! We’re just defending our sales against Amazon’s 24X7 presence! ” While there’s truth in that, I least I don’t have to drive to Amazon. “Farewell ” Thanksgiving!

Naughty or Nice?

Consumer’s Reports developed a list of “naughty or nice ” Black Friday retailers, and the idea stuck with me. So with my Thanksgiving dinner still warming my insides, I drove out onto the streets of my community armed with the morning’s newspaper inserts to develop my own “naughty or nice ” list. Since special Black Friday hours and deals are now accepted as the norm, any retailer who opened at 12 AM or after on November 29^th was still “nice ” – but if they opened one minute before 12 AM 11/29, they get a lump of coal from me.

So here’s my list (based on my drive-about in Walnut Creek, CA and surrounding towns).

1. Extra Naughty: Best Buy (opened doors at 6 PM on Thursday 11/28)
   
2. Naughty: Target, Macy’s, Kmart, Walmart, Sports Authority, Sears, Kohl’s, Office Max, JCP, CVS (even in relatively well-heeled Walnut Creek, there were people lining up to get into Target, and even a few in front of Macy’s.)
   
3. Nice: Big 5, Lowes, Home Depot, both local Ace hardware stores, Radio Shack, Fry’s, Cost Plus, Costco, Petco
   
4. Going to Retail Heaven: Nordstrom (not only didn’t they open at midnight, they didn’t put up holiday decorations until Friday). 

The Bigger Issue

There has been a loud debate on the societal issues surrounding “the biggest retail weekend of the year “, that revolves around two aspects:

The first is that people are willing to stand in line for hours or even days to get a few hot deals, because otherwise they wouldn’t be able to afford nice gifts for their families for Christmas. USA Today reported an example in their 11/22 edition: “In Beaumont, California, Victoria Torres is the veteran Black Friday shopper/camper of a small troop of about 10 people. She’s been camping outside the Best Buy for Black Friday sales for five years. ‘When we need something and we can’t afford it, we come out here on Black Friday, because they’ve got the good deals,’ she told the station. She was in line Monday. She said she looks forward to it every year. ‘It gets a little cold,’ Torres said, ‘but it’s worth it.’ “

That leads to a discussion of the widening gap between the top 2% wage earners and everyone else – and some in the news media breathlessly predicted that this would give new energy to the Occupy movement.

The second issue has to do with the quality of jobs being served up to people in the ongoing anemic U.S. recovery. Regardless of what cheerleaders for the industry might say, for many a job in retail means low wages, lousy hours, and (often) no benefits. Employees may feel that they don’t have the right to say “no ” to a work schedule that interrupts their family time on one of the only two days of the year reserved for family (the other being Christmas).

But the biggest issue, at least as far as the future of the retail industry is concerned, is that the whole notion of a “physical ” shopping extravaganza has become passé. One reason for that is that the deals aren’t really special. PCWorld magazine reported on November 26^th:

“Black Friday as the start date for holiday sales is gone. And that isn’t just because a few stores are opening after dinner on Thanksgiving. Go to the sites for Best Buy, Target, or Walmart right now, and you can view every deal that will be available on Black Friday. In fact, Target’s deals started on November 24, and Walmart’s deals began even earlier.

Retailers are blithe about jumping the gun. ‘Black Friday 2013 is almost here, but we didn’t want you to wait until the day after Thanksgiving for Black Friday deals, so we kicked off the savings a little early,’ says Amazon’s Black Friday site. ‘We are counting down to Black Friday 2013 with, yes, even more deals, all day, every day.’

Anyone who is waiting for Black Friday to get the best deals is a chump. The best deals are now, now, now! Or at least that’s what the retailers want you to think. The truth is that some of these deals aren’t deals at all. ‘The Black Friday label tricks consumers into subpar deals, and that’s exactly why retailers love the Black Friday brand, hype, and hoopla,’ says NerdWallet’s (senior analyst Matthew) Ong.’ “

What the PCWorld piece was referring to is a study by NerdWallet that compares Black Friday deals to earlier advertised specials. But an even bigger issue is growing the impact of “online ” – which has been much greater following the massive consumer adoption of “smart ” mobile technologies. According to Black Friday metrics published by IBM, more than 10% of the weekend’s business came from the digital selling channels. That’s significant – and probably spells “the end ” for Black Friday weekend as we have come to view it. Now consumers can shop over their pumpkin pie desserts while still at the Thanksgiving table. Why wouldn’t they want to have it both ways? A family day AND holiday shopping? That works for me!

So, I won’t miss the annual interruptions to my own family time. “Farewell ” Black Friday – “welcome back ” Thanksgiving. And “thank you ” consumer mobile technologies for making it so.