Black Friday is upon us once again which means the holiday shopping season has begun. On November 25th, 2016 stores will be filled with eager customers trying to beat others for these spectacular sales. From clothes to toys to even cars, everything you can think of is on sale. However, people have very mixed opinions on Black Friday and if it is actually a good thing. Some media outlets try to scare people from shopping because of the dangers it brings out. People can get very harsh and even violent trying to obtain the best products. Is Black Friday really as dangerous as it is made out to be? Or is the media just over exaggerating?

     Black Friday is a well known “holiday” throughout the United States, where stores have huge sales on all their products. Since it is right around the holiday season more people are willing to go out and buy gifts. This day brings in almost all of retailer’s yearly profits. Black Friday has sprung into longer sales making the months of November and December extremely important for retailers. Black Friday usually starts the holiday shopping season and after that you have days like CyberMonday that are also huge for stores.

     I was able to talk to Lisa Schulman, Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager of Bob’s Stores, and I got her opinion on Black Friday. When I asked Mrs. Schulman how significant Black Friday was to her store she responded, “Very, because it’s the largest day for sales in the store.” She seemed very confident in saying that Black Friday is a huge benefit for not only her retail but every store.

     Lots of topics relating to Black Friday usually have to do with the dangers it brings. However it is not as dangerous as it seems. The media tends to over exaggerate the terrors of Black Friday and most of it is just Clickbait. According to blackfridaydeathcount.com in the year of 2014 there was was only 5 recorded injures. From the span of 2006 to 2014 there have only been 7 recorded deaths, the last recorded death was in 2013. Yes, that is seven more deaths than we would like but it was in the span of eight years and most of the these deaths probably have to do with people who are insane or have a mental disability. I’m not saying that all these injures have to do with that but most murders have to do with people who are not mentally stable.

     Mrs. Schulman has been working for Bob’s Store for 16 years and has said that although Black Friday is extremely competitive, there has has been no physical violence at their store. She said that the web is a huge reason why there have been no incidents. People have become very reliable on internet and look to it for everything. Retailers notice this and have created online stores where you could get the same discounted prices. More people buy products on Black Friday now because they can do it from the comfort of their own home. Lisa Schulman stated that the web is the number one seller for retailers. Since people are staying home while shopping, no one can be injured or killed in a store on Black Friday.

     The truth about Black Friday is that it is extremely beneficial for retailers and with the improvements of technology, more people are consuming products and less people are being injured.