Last year, I provided a guide for how to observe Black Friday without making a very difficult shopping day even worse. (Okay, mostly I whined about having to do the standard crappy newbie work as I was getting started in my career, but at the end of it, I did include advice for a better Black Friday.) This year, though, we’re stuck with something even more urgent than general Black Friday considerateness — we’re stuck with a pandemic that makes cramming together in a suburban big-box store to get the best deal on a PS5 hazardous because of more than just the risk of stampede.
So this year’s Black Friday guide looks not just at ethical consumerism but also at pandemic safety. No matter your plans for this holiday week — and to be sure, it’s going to look different this year — it’s crucial that they include, like, not contributing to a viral pandemic. Thus the following list (personal whining-free) of advice for being ethical and safe while enjoying holiday deals.
1. Shop from home.
Fun fact: You might already be getting the best deals you’re going to get from the stores you’d normally hit up on Friday. In the interest of avoiding the one-day crush, a lot of retailers are offering the same deals they’d otherwise offer only on Black Friday, but making them available all week long, in store and online.
To repeat: The same deals you’d normally get only by showing up on Black Friday, you can now get all week long (or at least on the day of), without having to step into a store.
Check out: Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Target, and a whole bunch of others. Google to see if your favorite major or small retailer is offering pre-Black Friday online sales, and check out Business Insider’s curated list of great online deals.
2. Shop safely.
Okay, as an inherently honest person, I have to acknowledge that the only way to be truly safe in your holiday shopping is to stick with #1 up there. But as an inherently realistic person, I have to acknowledge that not everyone is going to do that. So if putting on pants and leaving the house is going to be your thing this year, be as safe as possible. To that end:
Shop where it’s safe(r).
In addition to week-long Black Friday deals, some stores are offering extra precautions — Best Buy, for instance, is offering both curbside pickup and same-day delivery, as well as limiting in-person capacity on the day. (How cool would it be for that to become a standard Black Friday practice anyway? No more shopper stampedes?)
Walmart, similarly, will be herding shoppers into a straight line rather than the traditional scrum, limiting capacity to 20 percent, and taking other precautions, as well as offering contactless curbside pickup. Target will be adding mobile checkout devices to allow shoppers to check out anywhere in the store, instead of having to congregate at the registers; adding items eligible for same-day pickup; limiting shoppers; and even allowing shoppers to reserve a spot in line outside their store.
Google small retailers in your area, or even call your favorites (during non-peak times — they’re busy, too) to see how they’ll be handling crowds so you can plan out your day, if that day won’t be spent in your jammies.
Be safe as you shop.
It’s always important to take COVID-19 precautions when you’re out in public, but it’s all the more crucial on a day when you’re going to be packed in with many, many other shoppers. Wear a face covering, the whole time, over your nose and mouth. Wash your hands frequently, if possible, and if that’s not an option, use hand sanitizer. And if you’re able to maintain a six-foot distance, at all, ever, do so.
For real, please do this. It’s going to be hot and stuffy and unpleasant, and that mask is likely to get uncomfortable, but it’s also the undisputed best way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when you’re out in public. Look at it as a gift to the entire community that you’re going to be giving on Black Friday.
(For real for real, though, please just stay home. It is literally the only way to do this thing safely.)
3. Buy from responsible brands.
This returning favorite from 2019 isn’t so much coronavirus-safety-focused as it is general-ethical-consumerism-focused. If you’re going to be shelling out for holiday deals, use your dollars to reward brands that are ethical and sustainable. I once again direct you to the Good Shopping Guide to pick out brands that are ethical in their sourcing and labor practices. (I also want to throw some love at REI, which has remained determinedly closed on Thanksgiving and Black Friday since 2015. I mean, I don’t know how much stocking up you’re needing to do on outdoor gear, but if any of your loved ones have a cozy fleece or something on their Christmas list, keep REI in mind.)
I also direct you to curated lists of great Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday deals from ethical online retailers. Look to Ecocult, Conscious Life & Style, and other sites for some pretty comprehensive rundowns. This is also a great way to support woman-, BIPOC-, and LGBTQ-owned businesses that often get lost in the holiday shopping fray, and to be able to hand out gifts you’re not going to be able to find at Target.
4. Be kind.
Another perennial winner: If you’re going to be out, be kind and thoughtful to other shoppers or, at the very least, to staff. Their usual long, rough Black Friday is going to be compounded by having to wear, and ask others to wear, PPE for the whole damn day. Throw them a bone and follow their instructions. And remember, again, that they have no control over long lines, crowded aisles, occupied changing rooms, picked-over merchandise, or COVID-19 precaution requirements laid on them by corporate management. The staff are already being put at risk of exposure by being packed into indoor environments for hours at a time with a rotating crowd of potentially disease-carrying strangers. Be at least one pleasant light on a difficult day. Believe it or not, they will notice, appreciate, and remember.
5. But for real, skip it.
This is going to be a weird holiday for everyone. A lot of people are going to be having Thanksgiving dinner by Zoom and watching football via FaceTime. Usual post-Thanksgiving traditions might have to go by the wayside. People who have always been with us won’t be. Save yourself the hassle of going out on Black Friday and instead spend that time creating new traditions, finding ways to be together despite being apart, and even just, like, appreciating some rare solitude.
It’s not going to be like this next year. I know that sounds weird coming from a pragmatist-verging-on-pessimist like me, but I sincerely believe that people are capable of doing the right thing and that the vaccines currently showing such promise are going to be a game changer. Making these sacrifices now is the only way to not have to make them next year. It’s frustrating and sad. But it’s a very tangible way to contribute to a better future.
For my part, I’ll be staying in town and Thanksgivinging at home, rather than traveling to see my parents or my in-laws. I’m learning to make my mom’s chestnut stuffing, which is essential for a good leftover sandwich. We’re considering frying a whole chicken and pretending it’s a wee little turkey. I’ll be visiting with my parents via Zoom instead of via dinner table. And I’m not going to lie — it’s going to suck. But it’s also going to work. And next year, it’s going to be better.
What are your plans this week? Anything special planned for a home-based Thanksgiving? Throw your suggestions in comments — I mean, hey, maybe I can co-opt them for my own purposes. And let me know if you want my recipe for leftover sandwiches, because I can’t guarantee the stuffing will be the same, but the turkey coma definitely will be.