This is where consumers go to record their consumption experiences and discuss the effects of how consumers are influenced by their environment in ways such as their culture, family, and media. This is an ongoing testimony of why we, as consumers, do the[sometimes crazy] things we do.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Black Friday Raises Ethical Concerns
Due to our reference groups we often receive offers to go shopping on Black Friday. I myself had to tell my fiance that I was not interested. What stirs this shopping craze in everyone? Is it the amazing deals, the thrill of getting one of the three toys that the stores had, or the excitement of the season? We have been conditioned since we can remember that the Friday after Thanksgiving has been the day where moms and grandmas unite and stay up late, or get up early. We as kids knew that was the day they were going to get the presents that we desired mostly. We are not the only ones who know this. Businesses are obviously aware of the frenzy that is stirred up due to this infamous holiday. This raises the questions about the dark side of marketing. Is it right for these businesses to stir up this fever pitch and only offer these deals for a few short hours? Safety ultimately comes into a concern for any shopper. Every year there are deaths and thefts over petty things. All you have to do is go to Youtube and type in crazy Black Friday shoppers and you will get hundreds of videos of people doing ridiculous things. We as future marketers have the ability to change this trend. We can restructure how people look at Black Friday, or we can ignore the negatives and continue to fuel the fire of get here twelve hours before our doors open to get one toy. Maybe it is time marketers look at Black Friday ethically and try to promote what Christmas and the holidays are really about; family and giving. Profits are important, but when its all we care about sometime the consumers get trampled.
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I agree that it is quite sad the state that some people work themselves into during black Friday. However, I am not as convicted about this being the fault of the marketer. It’s true that stores have sales, but these items are usually marked down again before Christmas. If a store doesn't have any sales they are jeopardizing their business because of the consumers’ expectation. I don't think that the marketer can be responsible for a person who decided to act in an animal-like manner. They are simply giving the consumer what has been demanded.
ReplyDeleteI dont think that we need to due away with black Friday. However I would be alright if they made it a weekend thing, that way the rush is not as fierce and people have more time to get out and shop. It is a genius idea of the marketer to come up with black Friday, but they did not take into consideration the incidents that could take place as Jordan stated above. With that said I just think black friday needs to be spread out into a black "weekend."
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