Ho, Ho, Ho… Hopefully
Well, another 'Black Friday' is in the books and this is what I'm wondering. You see I don't really care about the money angle, the net receipts from one day. Seriously. No, wh... View MoreHo, Ho, Ho… Hopefully
Well, another 'Black Friday' is in the books and this is what I'm wondering. You see I don't really care about the money angle, the net receipts from one day. Seriously. No, what I'm interested in is what were the numbers of items and things actually sold on Black Friday for the last 3 years. The real comparison comes into play when you're looking at how much merchandise ended up in the hands of buyers. That has a direct effect has on the lively hood of the business owners, store employees, the people who stock the merchandise, the truckers who delivered it all, as well as the workers who make the products (not nearly what it once was but still a factor, especially on the workers in countries we farmed out all the work to). And shopping malls stand as ancient ruins of an era past.
The same financial model holds true for "Cyber Monday" but to a far lesser factor degree since so many on-line sellers have taken to Black Friday, Amazon especially since they're the big dog in the on-line game.
So why am I interested, and why should you be interested? For a lot of very good reasons. The biggest of course being the employment picture people don't do nearly the buying if they don't know whether or not their next paycheck is also their last paycheck. But it also is the ultimate data point as to where people think this nation and its' economy are headed at the moment as well as the foreseeable future. It's a referendum on our nation's leadership, and these are votes Dominion can't touch.
But beyond that, many businesses take their cues for the next year based on the buying for Christmas results. The amount of merchandize sold dictates what stores are willing to stock far past this holiday spurt.
Do I have a prediction at this point in time? Not a chance! Will 'American's perpetual optimism' save the day or have the last couple of years been the death knell for 'tomorrow will be a better day'? Your guess is as good as mine. Are sales men and women, cashiers on the list of 'endangered species' ? It certainly looks like they're better than halfway extinct already.
It's a strange new world. Mind you the markers of it really have no clue as to how it will all workout in the long run, they just believe cost cutting is the answer to the maiden's prayer, not how much future consumers earn.
