Black Friday: Here's why we don't need this American tradition

Friday, 29 November 2019

OPINION: Hating Black Friday smacks of the kind of boomer attitude that would have school proms, Halloween and Valentine's Day banned because of a snobbish disapproval of anything 'Americanised'.

So sue me. Here's why I think we should get rid of it in New Zealand.

WE DON'T HAVE THANKSGIVING

Black Friday falls the day after Thanksgiving, giving some sense to the occasion in America. There's nothing like an afternoon with your extended family to make you want to wrestle a stranger for a wide screen TV.

* Black Friday sales don't live up to hype

Black Friday has become a stalwart of New Zealand high streets - but that doesn't mean it has a place here.

* New Zealand retailers forced to buy into Black Friday or miss out**

After spending a day chomping through turkey, pumpkin pie and marshmallow-topped sweet potato, it also tracks that you'd have some excess energy to burn off.

Elbowing your way to the last cut-price Kitchen Aid seems like as good a way to do it as any.

In New Zealand, though, Black Friday comes at the end of any other working week. No relative-induced rage, no turkey coma to shake, no need to storm the mall.

Black Friday sales don't necessarily mean you're getting a good deal.

IT'S NOT COLD

Rampant consumerism as a cure for seasonal affective disorder may not be a therapist's dream, but spare a thought for the people in the northern hemisphere gearing up for months of drizzle, sleet and 4pm sunsets.

When you're facing months of hibernation, you need all the joy you can get – and if that comes in the form of a new iPad to take to your duvet nest, more power to you.

But with the New Zealand summer just days away, give us cut-price sunscreen, 50 per cent off floppy hats and barbecues on special, and hold the rest.

There are sales on all the time - do we really need another one?

THERE ARE SALES ON LITERALLY ALL THE TIME

You'd be hard pressed to find a day Briscoes doesn't have a sale on and this year, even Countdown has jumped on the Black Friday bandwagon.

With the whole supermarket a rotation of money-off specials, I'm struggling to picture anyone suddenly deciding to stock up on the groceries they've been waiting all year to buy.

AND THE SALES AREN'T EVEN GOOD

Price comparison people PriceSpy have also warned shoppers deals may not be what they seem. Perfume actually increased an average 3 per cent during the sale, and some TVs, laptops and headphones also went up in price.

YOU DON'T NEED ANY NEW STUFF

In 2018, Kiwis spent $442 million over the Black Friday weekend, up more than 85 per cent from the $238.2m spent the previous year.

France is considering banning the sale because of 'frenzied consumerism' and its negative impact on the environment – perhaps it's time for New Zealand to chart the same course.

BECAUSE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST

Exhibit A: Me. After bagging on the fact Briscoes always has a sale on, who ended up buying a set of sheets in the Black Friday sale? I'll show myself out.