By Katie Bell, Staff Reporter.
Jessica Schott is a veteran in the retail world, as she’s worked for the last 12 years, including eight Black Fridays. She is currently an assistant manager at Maurices, a clothing store at the Midland Mall. As a retail professional, she doesn’t have a problem with working on Thanksgiving and actually enjoys working on Black Friday.
“I’ve always enjoyed my jobs and not minded spending a portion of the holidays with co-workers,” states Schott. “Working Black Friday, it’s kind of the Super Bowl of working retail. It’s where you get a chance to apply all your training in one day.”
Though, as the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season creeps into Thanksgiving itself, other retail managers and corporations struggle to balance consumerism with family values.
“Business-wise, being open on Thanksgiving in the past used to create a sense of urgency with customers of having to rush in to get the best deals and the in-demand product before it sells out,” states Schott.
However, Schott feels the tide is turning and being open on Thanksgiving can give corporations the appearance of being against traditional values.
“When it comes down to it, businesses lose money when they remain closed on Thanksgiving. They just have to choose between more revenue vs. public image,” says Schott.
But what if being closed on Thanksgiving and the day after was widely accepted and expected?
Outdoor gear and sporting good retailer REI has decided to stay closed this Black Friday. Instead, REI is encouraging their staff and customers to go outside. No promotions, no hourly sales, no doorbusters, no waiting in line.
“For 76 years, our co-op has been dedicated to one thing and one thing only: a life outdoors,” states Jerry Stritzke, President and CEO of REI on the company’s website. “We believe that being outside makes our lives better. And Black Friday is the perfect time to remind ourselves of this essential truth.”
The idea seems simple enough. Instead of heading to purchase things Michiganders should they take the day to walk along the shores of one of the Great Lakes, hike through the Porcupine Mountains, or even just simply sit outside with a cup coffee. 881,889 people and counting have already checked in using REI’s promotional hashtag #optoutside.
Though this simple idea stems from a more complicated marketing strategy.
“If you’re looking at it from a business point of view, this was good strategy for them,” states Lori Ziolkowski, an assistant professor in marketing at Delta College, “First of all, they know their customer and their customer loves to be outside and they are probably already a bit anti-consumerism in terms of their customer as well.”
Black Friday is typically one of REI’s top 10 sales volume days, but Zoilkowski points out that customers will still able to shop on their website, which is where a lot of shopping takes place nowadays. She also mentions that unlike companies like Best Buy or Walmart, REI is not a big discounter either.
“If you go to Best Buy on Thanksgiving night, and there are people camping outside because they are practically giving away four cheap TVs, those really deep, deep discounts,” states Ziolkowski, “REI doesn’t tend to do that because of their customer base and they have a little higher end goods. If REI does decide to discount any of their items, they mostly have those deals available online or that Saturday and even Sunday.”
There is some risk involved in not being open on Black Friday. Ziolkowski believes that consumers have a finite amount of money budgeted to spend on Christmas and once that money is gone, it’s gone. So if a store is not open to get those dollars, they are going to miss out on those sales opportunities.
“So the risk is – are they [REI] going to loose enough volume on that day and are customers going to shop at other places, their competitors, and they aren’t going to recoup that day later in the year,” says Ziolkowski.
The future impact that REI opting out of Black Friday has on the retail world has yet to be determined. The Black Friday tradition will continue, as million of retail workers will wake up early on Nov. 27 to host their holiday shoppers, just like they have in seasons past.