TikToker Noah Miller (@nmillz1) believes that Black Friday has fallen off and that shoppers aren’t getting as worked up over saving money on consumer goods as they were in previous years.
He mused this attitude shift towards the retail marketing ploy in a viral TikTok that’s accrued over 2.1 million views as of Saturday. In it, listed a few reasons why he thinks folks just aren’t about that gouging-each-other’s-eyes-out-life to save $3.19 on a Lightning charging cable.
“People aren’t dying on Black Friday like they used to,” he starts. “That was outta pocket but I’m serious! Everything’s online now and the discounts aren’t even that good. B*tches used to camp out at the Best Buy overnight so they could be first in line for a flat-screen TV and it was always a flat-screen TV. People used to miss Thanksgiving dinner so they could get to the store to get the deals. And now we’re lucky if Urban Outfitters tosses us a 20% off discount like thank you guys God Bless.”
The TikToker said that a lot of the “sale” items that are being offered discounts on Black Friday from retailers are already products that nobody wants in the first place.
“So many stores will just have a sale on sale items. Like, they’re on sale for a reason. We are having a blowout Black Friday sale of…10% off and free shipping. What? Like…I’m getting crumbs. I’m starving…those are crumbs. Like what the f*ck?”
Miller says Black Friday used to be an exciting time as he enjoyed seeing the secondhand violence of people unleashing the ugliest sides of humanity just so that they could save 11% on a makeup kit, or $100 on a TV. In fact, there’s even a Black Friday death count that chronicles all of the people who’ve been murdered or inadvertently killed as a result of discount shopping.
“Sh*t used to be like the Hunger Games like what happened?” he says.
@nmillz1 It doesnt hit the same anymore🤷♀️
♬ original sound – Hi
While Noah rants about the Black Fridays of yesteryear being long forgotten, many contest that the savings “event” has almost always been a scam. Truly low-cost items were few and far between with extremely limited quantities. Oftentimes, prior to Black Friday, retailers would artificially pump up the costs of specific items in a store and then “mark down” the price that they were originally selling before Black Friday anyway.
One reason could be the fact that ever since 2021, the United States economy hasn’t been doing too hot: inflation has hit a 40-year high and the cost of living in America has gotten so bad that people really can’t afford to go on shopping sprees.
Black Friday shoppers might not just be coming out in fewer numbers than in previous years not just because the economy isn’t doing so hot, but because they may have realized by now that these “deals” are all part of a marketing scheme. Sure, folks who are getting their holiday shopping done may look to Black Friday to get gifts at a fraction of the price, but as Miller said, online shopping is more popular and there’s probably a reason for that. Brick-and-mortar retailers can rarely go toe-to-toe with online retailers when it comes to price.
However, it could be that the public’s general ennui towards Black Friday shopping might be spurring retailers into serving up more enticing deals in 2023, at least that’s what this recently published article by CNBC indicates.
The outlet supported Miller’s claim that Black Friday appears to be occurring earlier and earlier each year, but the news site also said that the discounts for 2023 are looking much more sizable when compared to previous seasons: “Early Black Friday discounts were far higher this October compared to prior years, signaling retailers are concerned that demand could be tepid during the crucial holiday shopping season.”
Commenters who saw Miller’s video seemed to agree with his assessment that the savings event used to be much crazier.
“As a kid i literally binge watched black friday fight vids,” one said.
“The YouTube Black Friday hauls posted at 7 AM,” another wrote.
“My mom used to tell me it was too dangerous for me to go Black Friday shopping,” a user commented.
Another recalled, “I remember being a kid and going to walmart at midnight black friday to get the pink nintendo ds.”
For many, half off isn’t enough, they need to see stores practically giving their inventory away. “The biggest discount i’ve seen is 50% off. like i should be seeing 70, 80, 90%,” a user said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Miller via email for further comment.
