MBA Week 5 Article

Black Friday Sales Hit Record
By: Nicole Ridgway


Summary:

This year, Black Friday, or the kick-off to the holiday shopping season, hit a new record for the most sales. Compared to last year, sales on just about everything stores like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy have to offer, rose 6.6%. That percentage means the total sale figures were $14.4 billion. Last year, the Black Friday sales totaled $10.7 billion, which was the previous record. This is the biggest increase of total sales on Black Friday since the difference between 2006 and 2007. This year, companies opened their doors to start selling late Thursday night, before it was actually Friday. Many companies also plan to extend their sales well into this week. Online sales are also up 44% this year. It was noted that consumers actually spent more this year then they did last year, mainly spending that money for their own personal benefit.

Response:
I don’t know if you have ever been to a Walmart or Best Buy on Black Friday, but those places are complete mad houses. I made the mistake of going to Walmart on Black Friday last year. Literally everyone will go to a store fight to get the best deals. Where I am from, we had multiple arrests, and even a death on Black Friday. This year, the sales are probably up because the stores opened their doors around 11p.m. instead of Midnight. I know one hour doesn’t seem like it would make much of a difference, but when you have millions of people waiting to shop, it doesn’t matter what time you open. If stores open early, they are more likely to sell EVERYTHING! I’m surprised to see how much online sales jumped this year. I thought they were quite high last year (the number escapes me). Anyways, Black Friday probably just boosted the American Economy a little bit.

Vocab:

1) Preliminary

Preliminary reports for Black Friday indicate that retailers may have seen their strongest sales ever during the all-important kick-off to the holiday shopping season. 

Definition:

Denoting an action or event preceding or done in preparation for something fuller or more important.

Origin:

From modern Latin praeliminaris or French préliminaire, from Latin prae ‘before’ + limen, limin- ‘threshold.’

Sentence:

The preliminary results showed that the Democratic candidate was ahead of the Republican one.

2) Enticing

Retailers continue to stretch out Black Friday weekend by enticing shoppers with doorbuster deals weeks in advance.

Definition:

Attract or tempt by offering pleasure or advantage.

Origin:

Middle English (also in the sense [incite, provoke] ; formerly also as intice): from Old French enticier, probably from a base meaning ‘set on fire,’ based on an alteration of Latin titio ‘firebrand.’

Sentence:

The man enticed the kids to come to his van with lollipops.

3) Apparel

Coremetrics, which tracks real-time data from 500 retailers in the apparel, department store, health and beauty and home goods categories.

Definition:

Embroidered ornamentation on ecclesiastical vestments.

Origin:

Middle English (as a verb in the sense [make ready or fit] ; as a noun [furnishings, equipment] ): from Old French apareillier, based on Latin ad- ‘to’ (expressing change) + par ‘equal.’

Sentence:

That store over there, J.C. Penny, is a big apparel outlet.