Growing numbers of retailers are trying to move the start of the holiday shopping season to Thanksgiving day. Here are five really good reasons to avoid the so-called sales that start that day.
1. Very Little Is Actually on Sale
A lot of what retailers call Thanksgiving and Black Friday deals aren’t really remarkable. While it’s true that some items have greatly reduced prices, many aren’t even name brand products. Instead, they are usually cheaper, more generic brands, and the specials are so limited there aren’t even that many to go around.
This is no accident. The store’s goal is not to give you the deal of the lifetime, but to lure you to their establishment and convince you to spend money on other merchandise that you run into while shopping for what you originally came there to buy.
The main reason stores are willing to open up on Thanksgiving Day — often paying salespeople overtime to do it — is to get you to spend more, not save you money. You end up purchasing more than you otherwise would when you are told that things are on sale.
2. You Don’t Need What They’re Selling
Most likely the things that are on sale on Thanksgiving are things you want but don’t actually need. Don’t confuse the compulsion to make an impulse purchase with a thoughtful transaction you can make under more relaxed circumstances.
If you have to pull out your credit card to complete a purchase, then any discount a store might be offering will be canceled out by the interest you will have to pay on what you charge
One way or another, Thanksgiving day sales are all trying to nudge you off your budget for holiday — coaxing you into buying things you haven’t planned for. Don’t mess up your spending plans on the first day of the holiday season or things will snowball from there.
3. Crowds, Traffic and Nastiness
Crowds and traffic tend to reach extremes on Thanksgiving — so you’ll spend what seems like forever getting to the store and looking for a parking space, and then waste even more time waiting in checkout lines.
Heaven forbid you try to go to more than one location to shop, as it will gobble up your entire day.
The crowds in stores reach peak levels, and even if it’s wintry cold outside, all of the extra bodies plus central heating on full blast means sweat from other overheated people dripping onto you.
Plus the people are often full of attitude — some of them drunk from their Thanksgiving meals — and prepared to compete viciously for markdowns and parking spaces.
4. Stores Are Deliberately Stressful
Stores actually design Thanksgiving day shopping to be a frenzied event in the hope that you’ll make decisions impulsively — impelled to compete with other shoppers.
The staff members of the stores usually blend into the chaos, which makes it virtually impossible to ask questions and get assistance so you can make informed decisions. By the time you are done with the experience, your whole body aches from being on your feet most of the day.
5. You Miss Out on Everything That Matters
Going to the store on Thanksgiving can be a harsh contrast to the warm-and-fuzzy vibes you enjoy at the home of the family or friends who you celebrate the holiday with over a meal.
Everyone who skips the stores on Thanksgiving will tell you the day was meant to spend time with family and friends — listen to these wise words. Shopping that day deprives you of well-deserved relaxation and joy, particularly if the company you’d otherwise keep includes young children who make you laugh.
Thanksgiving Day is a great time to do anything other than shopping. While everyone else in town piles on each other in the store aisles in a bargain-chasing frenzy, you can do almost anything else with all the space you want to yourself. Make the best of this and enjoy doing something you enjoy without the usual hustle and bustle that comes with being among crowds.
Avoid the Mall on Thanksgiving Day
Attempting to visit physical stores or the mall on Thanksgiving will be counterproductive and frustrating, and the deals advertised as being in the stores on Thanksgiving are usually available online as well. You’re better off shopping on the internet — especially on Cyber Monday — so you can compare prices more efficiently and not have to deal with any crowds.
Readers, are you feeling tempted to shop on Thanksgiving?
3 comments
I really love this blog. Thanksgiving is not always for shopping, you can also spend your money for some other festival as well. Thanks for sharing some good reasons for not to do shopping on Thanksgiving and saving your money.
And, you also shouldn’t support the opening of these stores on a holiday by giving them your money. The less revenue they have, the more likely they will be to stay closed on holidays (the way it should be). Thanks for the great post and have a fantastic Thanksgiving!
And, you also shouldn’t support the opening of these stores on a holiday by giving them your money. The less revenue they have, the more likely they will be to stay closed on holidays (the way it should be). Thanks for the great post and have a fantastic Thanksgiving!