No More Body Slams: Online Shopping On Black Friday

Nevin Barich

Nevin Barich

LOS ANGELES , November 28, 2017 () – The last time I went shopping on Black Friday, I was body-slammed by a woman in a toy store.

Seriously.

The year was 1998. The Internet was asserting itself but had not yet permeated to altering the in-store shopping experience. I had spent the past 90 minutes in a crowded mall in Northridge, California, getting holiday gifts for my mom, dad and sister, and was ending my shopping day in the video game section of KB Toy Store, basking in its selection of Sony Playstation games. I picked up one possible purchase (which game it was has escaped me over time) and suddenly heard a female voice say:

MINE!

I turned around to face my assailant and next thing I knew: Up I go and down I went.

And it’s what happened next that really makes this story: I’m on the ground, the video game is now out of my grasp, the woman picks up the game, pays for the game, leaves the store, I’m watching all of this while still on the ground, and everyone else in the store—customers and workers—is acting like it’s business as usual, either oblivious to the fact that one customer assaulted another over a game, or maybe just figuring that this is par for the course on Black Friday.

Either way, as I made my way to my feet and rubbed my lower back, I made a vow right then and there: No more Black Friday shopping.

And for years, I kept that vow. But a few years ago, I broke that promise when I realized that I could once again take advantage of Black Friday prices by shopping online. No more risk of bodily harm. No more taking body slams in toy stores from random women surrounded by customers and workers who consider this behavior on Black Friday normal!

I’m apparently one of many shoppers who are staying away from the physical stores the day after Thanksgiving, or surrounding days for that matter. According to The NPD Group, the average amount spent per in-store buyer over Thanksgiving weekend 2016 was surpassed by online buyers on Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and Thanksgiving Day

“The in-store rush of crowds we typically associate with key holiday shopping days has become a thing of the past,” said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst. “The novelty of Thanksgiving Day shopping has worn its welcome, and Black Friday is on its way to becoming more of an online shopping draw than Cyber Monday.”

Making body slam incidents less likely.

Nevin Barich is the Food and Beverage Analyst for Industry Intelligence and is also Menuism’s fast food expert. Email him at Nevin.Barich@industryintel.com or follow him on Twitter.

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