During the Thanksgiving holiday of 1989, George W. Bush stood in the White House Rose Garden, in front of reporters, school children and a 50-pound turkey. He initiated the tradition of the formal presidential turkey pardon, kindly proclaiming “Let me assure you, and this fine tom turkey, that he will not end up on anyone’s dinner table, not this guy. He’s granted a presidential pardon as of right now.” Active presidents consider the turkey pardon a significant American tradition. Along with this gracious pardon, the holiday brings a well-deserved break. The nation prepares for long travel journeys ahead, if only to share an indulgent meal with family. Hosts prepare the traditional turkey dinner, while guests nosh on appetizers and watch football. The excitement continues after the meal, with many shoppers heading out to initiate the official start of the holiday season, Black Friday.
Consumers look at Black Friday as the closest thing to legal raiding. In recent years, buyers no longer stand in line in the early hours of Friday morning, but head out after a heavy Thanksgiving meal to get in early on sales and discounts offered to the first hundred customers entering the store. Cyber Monday is a reference to the increase in online shopping on the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday. It is an opportunity for consumers to purchase holiday gifts from the comfort of their own homes and offices. Retailers and investors view this weekend much more seriously. It is used to determine the likelihood of companies in achieving profitability projections. Analysts believe the spending which occurs during the Thanksgiving weekend can be a helpful indicator in determining overall holiday spending. This, in turn, provides insight into the general strength of the national economy. Suddenly, buying the latest iPhone takes on a whole new level of meaning.
The retail chain of department stores, Macy’s, contributed significantly in the creation of Black Friday. In 1924, Macy’s held its first Thanksgiving Parade in New York City. The parade included friendly floats, and zoo animals, and marked the expansion of the retail store all along 34th street in New York City. The department store benefited from the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties, and the parade’s success became a massive and highly successful advertisement for the company. The name Black Friday also referenced the industrial workers during the 1950s that wouldn’t show up for work after the Thanksgiving holiday, and later became associated with retailers that were operating at a financial loss. The start of the holiday shopping season suddenly marked profitability, and allowed retailers to operate, “in the black”.
The combination of long-awaited vacation days, as well as the chance to score significantly discounted goods contributed to the hysteria which now surrounds Black Friday. It is similar to the excessive meal itself, which makes it difficult to say no to third and possibly fourth servings of mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, and pumpkin pie. It is equally difficult to say no to seemingly massive reductions on apparel, electronics, and home goods. However, a huge part of this is in the hype of advertising. Most analysts believe that aside from the early doorbuster discounts that reward up to the first 500 customers entering the building, Black Friday deals are not that significantly superior to deals offered throughout the season. In fact, Thanksgiving holiday spending in 2014 fell 11 percent partly because retailers are offering equally appealing deals in the weeks leading up to the holiday. For the larger retailers, such as Target Corporation, and Wal-Mart Stores, these discounts begin almost immediately after Halloween.
Perhaps many of these highly desired purchases will become attic trash, and sold in garage sales within a year or two. However, the temporary thrill in finding a great deal and purchasing a good at an exclusive price provides consumers with an addictive feeling of excitement and pleasure. Conversely, the chase for the perfect gift, or the most exclusive promotion can provide consumers with a great deal of anxiety and stress. A significant number of options also leads to consumers to wonder if they are choosing the right brand of product, retailer, as well as the right Black Friday promotions. It is a bewildering array of choices for consumers, and can lead to cognitive dissonance. Consumers become conflicted about their purchases. Are the goods really desired, or was it really about the race to procure these goods? Consumers become obsessed with the making the right choice in their quest to collect a large assortment of goods.
Retailers understand consumers are addicted to the search. However, study after study shows that a fixation on possessions and more significantly, what these possessions project about the consumer can be significantly damaging. The fixation can lead to anxiety. Ask anyone who is the 101st customer at Target on Black Friday. It can also lead to depression and impair the way people relate to one another. Did a friend or neighbor score a more exclusive deal? The beauty of this search, for retailers, is that it only encourages more spending. In 1971, two psychologists, Brickman and Campbell, published an article on hedonic adaptation, also known as the hedonic treadmill. The concept illustrates that individuals generally stay at a set level of happiness. There may be short-term spikes and dips based on circumstantial events such as a pay raise or an unexpected layoff, but people tend to return to their default happiness. Thus, an increase in material possessions does not increase long-term happiness. Thus, the need to purchase in order to achieve spikes in contentment becomes even more necessary, however short-lived. Retailers understand all too well that the anxiety and stress associated with finding the best deal, the perfect gift and achieving the ideal holiday season becomes a vicious cycle. Black Friday mania rarely leads to gratitude, joy or contentment. Instead, Thanksgiving, a holiday traditionally reserved for gratitude and self-reflection is now a tortured, obsessive study of the consumer’s relentless search for the best deal. In the end, there is little to show for the efforts, except for shopping bags full of newly acquired belongings.
William Porter, the American short story writer better known as O. Henry once wrote, “There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving is the one day that is purely American.”
If this is the quintessential American holiday, it is the duty of every citizen to take back the holiday from excessive consumerism and the acquisition of goods. It obscures individuals from seeing the abundant blessings of family, friendship, food and shelter. It also drowns out the suffering of those both near and far. In an increasingly unstable world environment, it is even more necessary to remember the American spirit of generosity, and lead by example. Stay in and enjoy quality time with loved ones. Instead of searching for the latest discounts, search out the lonely, unemployed and unwell, and find a way to make their holiday a little less cold and corporate.
Happy Shopping Thanksgiving!
• Natasha Samuel is a freelance writer from Baltimore, Maryland. She has written for Men’s Fitness, NationSwell and is currently working on her first book project.
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