Many retailers are already in panic mode with Thanksgiving falling so late this year. Thanksgiving falls on the 28th this year, the latest date for the holiday since 2002. With less time to shop between then and Christmas, it could potentially cost the retail industry upwards of $1.5 billion in online sales alone, according to reports released by the 2013 Adobe Digital Index.
As a result of the calendar crunch, many retailers are getting an early jump on Black Friday. Best Buy, Target, Meijer, K-mart, Toys-R-Us and Wal-mart are a few of many stores that will be starting their sales on Thanksgiving Day.
Two of the most highly anticipated items for this Christmas, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, will also get an early jump on Black Friday with early releases. The PlayStation 4 had a Nov. 15th release date, and the Xbox One will be released on Nov. 22nd.
Retail workers are well aware of the Black Friday horror stories. In 2008, at a Long Island, NY Wal-Mart, an employee was trampled to death while opening the door. A pregnant woman miscarried in that same Wal-mart due to the aggressive crowd. That same year, an argument erupted into gunfire at a Toys R Us in Palm Desert, California, killing two men. People are trampled almost year, including a 73-year-old in 2005. The list of incidents is extremely long.
The environment around Black Friday can be highly stressful for employees on both the management and entry-level side. Many employees said that dealing with customers that are agitated and/or frustrated keeps them on edge.
“On Black Friday, it is controlled chaos. The building is typically at capacity, and you can barely move,” Debbie Ferguson, Wal-mart cashier, said. “Even though it’s holiday time, customers aren’t necessarily at their happiest, so it’s not a comfortable feeling.”
Since there are more customers than door-buster items, there will always be customers that are unhappy.
The Black Friday events can also go from a frenzy to dangerous in no time. Often times, people get locked in on the things that they want and will do anything to get them.
“I remember an elderly woman a few years ago who was swinging a broom to keep people away from a vacuum cleaner she was trying to purchase,” Fred Jones, Wal-mart sales associate, said.
Ferguson recalled a time when customers were so bent on getting items, a fellow employee was in danger of being injured.
“We had a Wal-mart employee pulling a pallet of sales items,” Ferguson said. “And as he was cutting the plastic off, the customers begin reaching and grabbing for the items, and he had to call for help, because he was trapped.”
To help reduce the risk of injury, Wal-mart has started to stagger their sales in recent years, having certain items go on sale every couple of hours. The ads will show a list of items that will go on sale on Thanksgiving night, and a new batch of items every couple of hours. That has helped to reduce the size of the crowds some.
Christopher Kaelin, Target team member, said that, like Wal-mart, Target stores also make a lot of preparations for Black Friday.
“The first few hours can be extremely crazy, but Target is great with crowd control,” Christopher
Kaelin, Target team member, said. “There will be several managers available, and every lane in the
store will be open. We will also have many extra seasonal workers that will lighten the load.”
As for shoppers, the deals will be at a premium, and there will be plenty of toys available to stuff your stockings with.
Be careful and enjoy the chaos.
