It’s Better To Stay At Home On Black Friday

People have heard about the moral dilemmas of Black Friday. The stampedes, the fights, the overworked staff. Even more people have heard about the once-a-year deals in stores such as Target and Walmart. But what most people have not heard of is how Black Friday hurts the consumer and hurts the environment by increasing waste, giving misleading signals about the economy, and promoting overspending.

According to Statista, 32 percent of consumers are likely to shop in store on Black Friday this year, while 37 percent are likely to do their shopping online. These numbers take on a sinister meaning when you look at them through an environmental scope.

Dr. Geoffery P. Glabsy, in his peer reviewed article, Entropy, Pollution and Environmental Degradation, identifies a positive relationship between waste and economic growth. The higher consumption rises, the higher the amount of waste rises. The higher Black Friday’s popularity, the more resources are expended, which leads to environmental degradation.

While it is not solely responsible for the destruction of our climate, the amount of participation in Black Friday serves as an indicator of how much waste our economy produces.

Supporters of Black Friday will bring up how it serves as an economic indicator for the economy. If sales are high, consumer confidence is high, leading to higher investments throughout the year. If sales are low, consumer confidence is low, leading to lower levels of investment.

However, this is no longer the case. Since deals on-par with Black Friday’s can now be found earlier in November online, it is no longer an accurate forecast of future retail sales. The purchases are spread out throughout the month, making it useless to treat Black Friday as an effective indicator.

The discounts, the crux of Black Friday, may also be misleading. According to Daniel Murgo, an economics professor at the InterAmerican Campus, consumers are more susceptible to increased credit card debt during the holiday season, Black Friday in particular, due to overspending.

“Some people fall into the trap of buying things just because they are cheap,” Murgo said.

A higher amount of credit card debt leads to lower amounts of consumer purchasing power throughout the year. For college students who are struggling to pay tuition and are unaware of the possible ramifications of overspending, Black Friday and the holiday season can prove to be an obstacle in the way of financial independence and further studies.

Murgo does mention that it’s possible to benefit from Black Friday, explaining that “…consumers can gain. They need to be careful what they buy and why they buy it.”

However, taking into account the environmental and economic dangers of Black Friday, as well as the availability of deals way before the event, there is just more reason to stay home on Friday rather than go shopping.