Tis the Season of Spending

By: Maura Weber

Rather than venture out into the endless abyss of long lines and packed stores, my Black Friday tradition has always been to put up lights with my dad while blasting Christmas music through the suburbs of Philadelphia.  As many shoppers search the web for bargains, we visit the weather channel hoping that Friday’s forecast will be mild and rain free.

In many ways, Black Friday is social psychology at its finest as shoppers scramble to get the best bargains as they kick off the holiday season.  I consider myself a frugal shopper, and yet the years I have gone out Black Friday shopping I always find myself dropping much more cash than normal.  In a recent article by the Huffington Post, the psychology of Black Friday shopping and splurging was explored.

The article cites two main principles that are responsible for retailer’s success on Black Friday.  The first is a concept known as the scarcity principle, which is the idea that if something is rare, we should try to get our hands on it as soon as possible.  This leads to impulsive purchases as consumers become more focused on buying the latest trends and do not take time to think if the item is really something they or a loved one would want.  Something that retailers use to enhance this effect is the time crunch they put on shoppers by offering “one-day only sales.”  I remember calling my mom freshman year about Ann Taylor’s 40% off sale that was supposedly running for only one day… the sale ended up lasting over a week.  Advertisements such as these cause our brains to act in a more emotional way and bypass the rational decision making processes needed to engage in frugal and smart shopping.  A second principle shoppers often fall under the spell of is the social proof principle, namely the idea of justifying your behavior based on what others around you are doing.  For instance, people might justify standing outside in the cold for hours because “if others are doing it, it must be worth it!”  In this way, many people rationalize the negative aspects of Black Friday – such as long lines and large crowds – because they have already committed to going shopping and want their experience to match their expectations.

Whatever a person’s reason for Black Friday shopping is, it is important to remember that while stores may be offering “unbeatable bargains,” a retailer’s main goal is to make money.  Thus, the deals are probably not as “unbeatable” as they seem.  However, there is something to be said for the excitement that Black Friday brings for the upcoming holidays.  Still, it is important to not get too wrapped up in all the commotion of holiday spending and miss the more important aspects of the season.  Things like making a budget and thinking about what gifts you are going to buy before aimlessly venturing out into the malls have been shown to help shoppers keep their spending in check.