Greensboro Black Friday Slump Shows North Carolina Consumers Scared About the Future

Black Friday backlash in 2015 as sales dip

Image Source: Flickr User John Henderson

There’s always a lot of hoopla surrounding Black Friday sales, but this year, many shoppers seem to be holding back despite many positive economic trends. We wrote recently about the Greensboro, North Carolina drop in joblessness – which is a good thing – but now a local retailer reports that holiday sales are off to a slow start. Here’s what this means and why this could be a good thing for you.

The importance of Black Friday

Black Friday is so named because most retailers make enough on that day of sales to put them in the “black.” The root is old-school accounting language - being in the “red” means a business is not profitable and being in the “black” means profits. When books were kept by hand, and red ink was used to show losses and black ink profits. On Black Friday, sales are crucial to retailers. And when consumers stay away or spend less, it spells trouble.

How a slow Black Friday can benefit you

If you got up at the crack of dawn – or went out when stores opened on Thanksgiving evening – you may have scored some bargains. But if you slept in, don’t despair. The lower-than-expected numbers may mean that you can still score some great pre-Christmas deals. When retailers don’t achieve the sales numbers they need, they will often offer more and more sales with increasingly deep discounts the closer it gets to Christmas – so your reluctance to shop may pay off in weeks to come.

Why was Black Friday slower than expected?

The decrease in retail action this year, particularly for clothing retailers, could indicate consumer confidence issues. This may seem off since gas prices are at lows were haven’t seen in years, employment is up, and things seem to be going well. But the fact that it’s going well may be exactly why consumers are skittish – they may be waiting for something bad to happen as if we’re due for an economic setback, or they’re due for a personal setback.

Those who have dealt with unemployment may worry that it could happen again. And those who’ve just dug themselves out of debt (or are still digging) because of the impact of the recent recession may be reluctant to run up their credit cards and worsen their finances. That seems to be what the head of Greensboro, NC clothing retailer Hudson’s Hill thinks. William Clayton says, “Some people do not trust that gas prices will remain inexpensive, and they choose to pay down debt or save it for an emergency.”

There’s also a societal backlash against retailers who open on Thanksgiving and force their employees to give up family time. Many also are increasingly reluctant to sacrifice their own family time to wrestle with other shoppers for bargain items. Plus, the animosity and even outright aggression that are hallmarks of some Black Friday frays can be a real turn off to many saner consumers. In short, Black Friday may be less of a “thing” in future years than in the past particularly with the rise of online shopping.

Don’t let debt ruin your holidays

Black Friday bargains aside, if you’re deep in debt, you may not be picturing a Merry Christmas in your household. If you’re dealing with constant and harassing debt collection calls, can only pay minimums on credit cards, are maxed out on your lines of credit and living to paycheck, there’s a better way. Call +1-833-627-0115 for a free North Carolina bankruptcy consultation at one of our locations in Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville, Wilson, Greensboro or Wilmington. Our team of bankruptcy experts at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt help Greensboro, NC consumers and families all over North Carolina. Enjoy a debt-free holiday this year and a better New Year for 2016 – call us for debt relief help today.