One of the last places sophomore marketing major Elizabeth Sibaja wanted to be was outside a Best Buy at 5 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving, especially given the fact she didn’t have any money to spend.
But like other shoppers across the country looking for deals, she waited outside with her brother for hours in the long line winding around the store.
“My parents made me go with him because it was dark and cold,” she said. “I don’t really have any money, so I didn’t buy anything myself.”
Like many of her fellow Terps, Sibaja warded off the urge to shop on Black Friday due to concerns surrounding a sluggish economy and dismal winter break job market. Others skipped the crowds altogether, even as stores offered up to 70 percent off merchandise to lure shoppers.
“I understood why people might get up at 3 a.m. to go shopping with a mass of people to save $100, but I never would,” freshman aerospace engineering major Jason Connolly said. “Shopping on the day after Thanksgiving is great for the economy, but a lot of the discounts are a gimmick, and you always end up spending more money than you would otherwise because you think you’re getting a good deal.”
Of the students who did go shopping, most went looking for deals and were conscious of their bottom lines.
“When I go shopping, I feel like I’m stimulating the economy,” sophomore bioengineering major Afareen Rezvani said. “I don’t go crazy like I used to, but I still buy more than I need, especially when there are good deals.”
Marketing professor Jie Zhang said retailers will be offering especially low prices this season to clear their shelves by the end of the holidays.
“Anticipating a dismal holiday season, many retailers have already cut down inventory and started holiday discounts early this year,” Zhang said in a statement. “Consumers will be especially deal-prone this season, so retailers may have to resort to deep discounting.”
Despite the dismal global economic situation, the National Retail Federation reports Black Friday sales rose 0.5 percent from last year, with a total of $41.2 billion spent across the country.
“Even though I went in the afternoon, I still got good deals,” sophomore history education major Rebecca Durgin said. “Most of the stores I went to were fairly crowded.”
Marketing professor Janet Wagner recommended Durgin’s strategy of hitting the mall during the peak of deals and discounts, and offered a bleak picture for those holding off on their holiday shopping until the last minute.
“Consumers who are last-minute shoppers need to rethink their strategies this year,” Wagner said in a statement. “Retailers have trimmed their inventories to avoid the massive pre-Christmas markdowns, which hurt profits last year. Consumers who wait may not find the perfect gift.”
hemmati at umdbk dot com
