If it sometimes sounds like I hate anti-Black Friday, that’s probably because I… do, arguably, just a little. Like, I get it: There are economic benefits to it. The “black” part of Black Friday refers to retailers being “in the black,” i.e., making a buttload of money all at once so their balance sheets go from negative to positive before the end of the year. And the extreme deals that make Black Friday such a huge event every year are sometimes crucial to make holiday gifts accessible to shoppers who don’t have a lot of money to throw around.
I don’t think I have any kind of deep, abiding beef with Black Friday per se. I just think keeping an eye on unchecked consumerism is a good thing, and being conscious of the way we observe this quasi-official kickoff to the holiday shopping season is also a good thing. And not acting like an overgrown, entitled infant causing property damage and even human death in pursuit of a 75-percent-off Xbox is a very freaking good thing. (Do I have to extoll the benefits of just skipping Black Friday entirely this year, or have you heard that enough from me?) So if you insist on Black Fridaying, at least do it right.
Of course, because we can’t have just a REGULAR FREAKING YEAR for freaking once, 2021 has its own holiday-shopping challenges, among them: Global supply chain issues mean holiday presents already ordered might not make it in time for the big day, and even some stores could look a little more sparse than the retailer might have wanted them to look. So conspicuous consumption expectations should be managed.
And as you’re doing your shopping, please do keep safety in mind. The COVID pandemic remains a thing, infection rates are going up in some areas (and are expected to increase even more as people stay inside to escape cold weather), and vaccination rates aren’t anywhere close to where they need to be. And stores are likely to be a lot more crowded than they were at this time in 2021. Masks, distancing, and following store rules are essential for your health and that of all the loved ones you’re likely to be hugging in the coming weeks.
Done being lectured? I’m done lecturing. So here’s… some more lecturing. Except I’m calling it “advice.”
1. Shop early and/or online.
If you’re going to go ahead and do the major-retailer consumerism thing for Black Friday (and again: If you have your reasons, I’m not going to tell you how to live your life), one of the best things you can do is… not do it on Black Friday. Or not do it in person. With stores being crowded this year despite the fact that it’s not a great idea to be crowding into anything right now, nobody’s going to blame you for not contributing to the crush. And luckily, you don’t actually have to contribute to said crush to enjoy the savings.
As is the ongoing trend, a lot of retailers are already offering Black Friday-esque discounts in advance of the day itself. If you can get a head start, get a head start, particularly if you have a specific item in mind and/or your holiday shopping style tends more toward hunting than grazing. Even in cases when the pre-Black Friday deals aren’t quite as impressive as the deals on Black Friday proper, consider that you’d be paying a little bit more for an item you might not be able to get at all when you’re out shopping.
Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and a lot of big-box stores are already offering discounts — some both online and in-store, and some online-only with in-store discounts only appearing on the 26th. Wired and NYT’s Wirecutter both maintain updated lists of early deals. And blackfriday.com has a huge collection of assorted store ads and deals designated specifically for pre-, peri-, and post-Black Friday shopping. Get your shopping done now, in your PJs, and sleep in on Friday. (Note: If you’re shopping online, do remember the shipping delays — pay attention to estimated delivery dates to make sure your chosen items are going to get to you when you need them.)
2. Shop small.
Y’all know this is pretty much always going to be my answer. Traditionally, the celebration of small businesses and consumerism falls on Small Business Saturday, but here’s a fun fact: You can shop with small businesses any time. And it’s good to do. Small businesses of all kinds have taken a pandemic-related hit that they’re far less able to absorb than their larger counterparts, and they’ve closed at staggering rates. If the point of Black Friday is to get retailers back in the black, it’s the small, independent retailers that need it most of all.
The pandemic has had an even greater impact on BIPOC-, LGBTQ+-, and woman-owned businesses than on the market as as whole (as of August of last year, nearly half of Black small businesses had been wiped out by COVID, good lord), meaning your shopping dollars have an even greater impact there. Don’t forget about those retailers in your community as you’re out and about, and do a quick Google for BIPOC-, LGBTQ+-, and woman-owned retailers online that can satisfy your gift-giving needs. (Also, Google has made a “shoppable film” featuring music by T-Pain and Normani and products from Black-owned retailers, and it’s pretty awesome.)
Basically, instead of buying something completely commonplace from a retailer that is definitely not going to suffer if you sit one out, help a small business that’ll be chuffed as hell to see you walk through the (literal or digital) door. You can get something cool that the average Target shopper won’t be able to show off. And local small-business shopping, in particular, has an added bonus of immediacy and instant gratification. A locally made item that’s sitting right there on the shelf in front of you isn’t going to be subject to shipping delays that could lead to Christmas morning disappointments. And a big chunk of the money you spend at a local retailer stays in the community.
3. Shop ethical and sustainable.
(Ethically and sustainably? Whatever.) While you’re throwing money around, do a solid for some brands that make an effort to protect the environment and the well-being of workers and communities as they create and sell their wares. And while ethical and sustainable products do often come with a somewhat larger price tag, more and more products are joining the market that are both ethical and affordable — especially when considerable Black Friday discounts are involved.
Conscious Life and Style (note: Affiliate links there) and Sustainably Chic (ditto) both have lists of ethical Black Friday deals that give you a nice, warm, fuzzy, self-righteous feeling as you shop. And the Good Shopping Guide can tell you how your favorite brands measure up in terms of respect for environmental health, animal welfare, and human rights.
4. Punt.
Brace for what might appear to be self-righteous moralizing, but: If shopping and/or shipping is a problem, consider skipping Black Weekend entirely and donating that money to charity instead. Have every participating adult in your gifting circle provide a wish list of favorite charities, and then donate to those instead of exchanging items that totally aren’t your thing but you can’t say that because you know they meant well, so you have to pretend to like them.
My family has been doing this (exchanging donations, not pretending to like Christmas presents) for about five years now, and while I do sometimes miss the challenge of finding just the right something for the person who has everything, I don’t miss the miserable challenging of finding just the right something for the person who has FREAKING EVERYTHING.
(Note about this one: The under-18 crowd DOES NOT UNDERSTAND NOR ACCEPT this concept. No ten-year-old will think a donation to Blessings in a Backpack is as meaningful as a… Furby, whatever, I don’t know what kids are into these days, I am very old. Go ahead and drop some actual coin on the kiddies, to the extent that you can find physical toys and such in the coming retailpocalypse. Yes, this would be a great opportunity to teach them a lesson about generosity. No, it is not going to hit home if it isn’t accompanied by at least one or two actual gifts. Let’s not kid ourselves.)
5. Shop kindly.
This actually applies to any of the above, and it seems like something that shouldn’t need to be said, but for some reason, every Black Friday, it flies out the window: Be a good person. If you’re out shopping in person throughout the Black Weekend, be patient with overwhelmed and overworked staff. Whatever rules are in place for shopping somewhere, follow those rules. Recognize that if an item is sold out, it cannot be conjured from thin air. Be respectful of other people, and put their physical safety over your desire to nab the last Xbox. Remember that, as an adult human being, you are expected to be capable of some degree of impulse control.
I’ve said before that the holiday season is my absolute favorite because it’s the one time of year that we’re all supposed to be thinking about each other and focusing on togetherness and generosity. (Supposed to. Whether or not we actually achieve that is another matter.) Selfish, entitled Black Friday chaos flies directly in the face of that.
So don’t blow this for me, is my point.
Happy shopping, or not shopping, or whatever.
What are my Black Friday plans this year? To stay my ass on my parents’ couch, wearing stretchy clothes that will accommodate the prodigious amount of leftovers I’m preparing to eat, enjoying the peace and quiet (or the raised-voice chaos of Gilletts debating whatever it is we’re on about this time). Maybe I’ll knit something. It’ll be nice. It’s a Black Friday observance I cannot recommend highly enough.
In the end, though, your choice of shopping methods as the holidays approach is all on you, and once again, I’m not in a habit of telling people how to live their life. If the Black Friday Experience is precious and meaningful to you, go for it. Just be safe (in both a personal-safety and a COVID-safety kind of way) and be kind (to yourself, to fellow shoppers, and definitely to retail workers). Be the kind of person your kindergartener could be proud of.