Thread: Black Friday: Offline vs. Online Shopping

Tomorrow is Black Friday. I'm not surprised to read that due to the tough economy many consumers will choose to shop online instead of going to the mall:

Black Friday and the holiday shopping season are upon us, but in a slow economy, many consumers plan to opt for online shopping over hitting the mall. Comparison shopping, free shipping, and easy searches are cited as reasons why so many plan to shop online, and businesses behind search sites are taking heed.

I can think of another two great advantages to shopping online: I can avoid long queues and I can shop in my pajamas.

In light of the slower economy, it will be interesting to see if consumers will hold back their spending habits.

I think business will see the worst year they have seen in a long time. I know I will not be buying much of anything this year because all my money is going to survive this economic crisis we are in.

And I will never stand in a line to buy something. Either a company hires enough employees to handle their traffic, or I go somewhere else.

I can't believe it. Shoppers were so eager to get their bargains, they trampled an Wal-Mart employee to death.

See the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/bu...l?ref=business

The 34-year-old employee, who was not identified, was knocked down by a crowd that broke down the doors of the Wal-Mart at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, N.Y., and surged into the store. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital at 6 a.m.

It's so disgusting that these shoppers were careless enough to let this happen. A life lost because people wanted to make sure they got a bargain?

UPDATE: It gets worse. Make that two lives lost as a pregnant woman miscarried:

The police reported several other injuries, including a pregnant woman who was trampled, causing a miscarriage.

Black, black Friday - THE WEEK

2 more shopping deaths - a gun fight broke out in a California toy store:
2 dead after shots fired in Palm Desert toy store

This is pathetic. I don't really understand humans and that makes me wonder about myself. I look around me and find I have less and less in common with just about everyone. I did not start down this path I have taken with that goal in mind, just an observation after being here.

Originally Posted by taki

This is pathetic. I don't really understand humans and that makes me wonder about myself.

We supposedly live in a civilized society. Many look around and realise that's not quite true.

Originally Posted by taki

I look around me and find I have less and less in common with just about everyone.

Being different may simply mean you don't follow the herd, you are independent-minded, and you are not easily influenced. In my book, these are positive character traits.