The day after Thanksgiving; we all know it well. If you’re anything like me, childhood memories of Thanksgiving consisted of going to a family member’s house, eating food, and hanging out with the cousins, all while watching the news on the TV. I remember seeing videos of the Black Friday rush on the news. Images of people lining up can camping outside of stores filled the TV screen. They showed videos of the warzone of stores with people fighting with each other or snatching items from each other’s grasps. Since then, this culture surrounding Black Friday has subsided into a less extreme type of frenzy.
I’ve worked for Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister for about three years and have never experienced the same rush that I would see on the news as a kid. That being said, Black Friday currently may not be as intense as back then, but people are still preparing themselves for their long, tiring journey through their closest mall in search of deals, navigating through a harrowing world of confusing deals and sold-out items. However, the battle of Black Friday can be won. Throughout my time working in retail, I’ve gained some valuable knowledge about the world of Black Friday, so here are some tips on how to conquer Black Friday.
How to Read Marketing
Walking into a store, you are met with many signs screaming the store’s deals in big bold letters.
“BOGO Jeans”
“Shirts up to 50%”
“Whole store 60% off”
These signs are what bring customers in because once they see that “the whole store” is 60% off, they automatically assume that the whole store is 60% off. Who can blame them? That’s what the sign says after all. Little do people know that many of these signs will have a very small fine print at the bottom saying that it excludes all of these different items. These signs can be confusing, generalizing, and misleading. That’s why I recommend taking the signs that you see right at the front of stores with a grain of salt. It’s great to know what most of the sales in the store are going to look like, but what you need to pay attention to are the marketing signs directly next to items. It’s important to pay attention to what the signs exactly say. For example, let’s say that a table contains some jeans and some shirts and there is a sign on the table that says “Pants 30%.” This means that the only items on the table that are on sale for 30% are the pants. However, if the sign on the table only says “30% off,” then it is safe to assume that all the items on the table are 30% off. However, if you are ever in doubt, it doesn’t hurt to ask the nearest employee. As busy as Black Friday is, we employees are usually more than happy to answer questions like that. It’ll save both your and our time, and will also save us from facing customers at the register when they bring up a bunch of items that they think are on sale and get angry when their total is a lot higher than they expect it to be.
Find Out When Sales Starts
In the mall that I work at, you will see long lines trying to get into already crowded stores with long lines leading into fitting rooms and to the registers. With these lines, it makes it more stressful to have time to get to all the stores that you need to get to. Black Friday is the only day of the year you would probably see any mall being chaotic, and that’s because many people assume that Black Friday deals only apply on the actual day. While this is true for some stores, there are a good amount of stores that will start their Black Friday days, and even weeks early. If you have done your research and already know exactly what you need to buy and from where it would be beneficial to research whether those places start their Black Friday deals early. By doing this you can knock out some of the stores that you need to visit which saves you time on the day of Black Friday. Not only that but being able to go to stores before Black Friday makes it more likely that the item that you need would still be in stock.
Ask About Ordering In-Store
As you walk through the store scanning for the item you need, your stomach drops as you realize it’s not there. You ask an employee to check if they have more in the back, but they come back with the tragic news that the item you need is sold out. With your head in hands, you walk out the door of the store defeated.
Getting to every single store on your list and being able to find every item you need without running into the issue of it being sold out is too unrealistic. Finding out that the item you need is sold out can be disheartening. You can always come back when the item restocks, but the deal might not be as good as that Black Friday deal. Although this may be discouraging on your Black Friday journey, there is a solution. Many stores offer an option to order the item for you, and since you can pay on the same day, they usually match the online price to the in-store Black Friday price. With this, you can be at peace knowing you got what you needed for the best price that you can.
With just these three tips, you can save time and maximize your shopping experience. Although these tips apply to the stores that I have worked at, as well as many other stores, it’s important to do research on which stores these tips can apply. However, once the research is done and you have these tips in your back pocket, you will be ready to conquer Black Friday.