UNITED STATES—I was one of the many Americans that ventured out into the retail stores on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that is known as the busiest shopping day of the year. Why? It is deemed the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season. We all know 2020 was a bust because of COVID-19, people still shopped, but nothing compared to 2019 and 2021. Yes, that is right, I thought 2021 would be smaller in terms of crowds, but that was NOT the case, not at all America.
I was out at one of the big retailers’ at 8 a.m. and guess what, they were busy. People were out, people were spending money and it was nice to see because it totally puts in me in the Christmas spirit much more than you can expect. I did notice there were plenty of people wearing masks, and there were plenty of people NOT wearing a mask; to each is their own. With COVID-19 cases on the increase and the threat of the new variant, Omicron you can never be too careful.
For me, social distancing mattered and it seemed most people adhered to those rules as well. No major incidents. I did not see people fighting over items or running and acting like maniacs to get their hands on items that may have been on sale or was such a good deal they just didn’t want to pass it up. That was a welcome site, but I ventured to three malls and all and I mean all of them were crowded, some more than others. One mall was so chaotic there were lines on top of lines. What do I mean? There was one line to get into another line to get into the main line to get into the store. Then once you got into the store, there was another line.
For me, it was just too much and as a result I only entered 2 stores, ones that were busy, but not super busy. I was amazed with the deals that I got people. One store I saved 40 percent on top of the discount I was already receiving. At another store, it was a sale on top of a sale. I mean I got a sweat suit, something I had been eyeing for weeks for literally $20. Why?
I got both items at nearly 60 percent off, then I had another coupon with an additional 25 percent off, then I had a $20 reward. Yeah, that notion of if you see it immediately buy it. I don’t buy it people. Sometimes it pays to wait because you get a deal that is unheard of rather you want to believe it or not people. I did spend some money people, but I was happy with all the purchases made. Why? I got all of my Christmas shopping done. I just have 1 to 2 things left to pick-up and that’s it for me people.
I did note I was not going to go all out this year as I have done in previous years, but it’s Xmas and I tend to get in the mood to just want to buy and when you get a bargain you simply cannot ignore it America even if you attempt to do so. What did I spend? I rather not share, but let’s just say I did NOT break the bank so I had plenty left over and I was smart about my shopping utilizing cash and not credit, so I was more aware what I spent and why I spent it as well. Black Friday 2021 told me one thing, we are NOT back to normal, but we’re getting pretty damn close to it.
