There are just two weeks before Black Friday 2008. This year, this event will take place on 29 November. So, you are going to find a lot of advertisements, deals and news reports in the media about this event. Well, some people are worried that the ongoing economic recession may have a negative effect on shopping this time. You know that the economic slowdown has badly affected most countries in the world including USA. The price of oil has decreased significantly in the last one month and it may decrease even more. In USA, many people have lost their jobs and there are some reports that around 10 million people are now unemployed. Things are not well globally at all either. So, I feel that there is a degree of uncertainty in the air about Black Friday 2008.
About Black Friday, I am quoting from Wikipedia:
Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, where it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Since Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday may be as early as the 23rd and as late as the 29th of November. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employees take the day off, which increases the number of potential shoppers. Retailers often decorate for the Christmas season weeks beforehand. Many retailers open very early (typically 5 am or even earlier) and offer doorbuster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. Although Black Friday, as the first shopping day after Thanksgiving, has served as the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season at least since the start of the Christmas season at least since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the term "Black Friday" has been traced back only to the 1960s. The term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. More recently, merchants and the media have used it instead to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit).
Christmas is the busiest time in the western world. People get bonus and they love to spend money for their family and friends. Many people also buy some items for themselves too. Now, many people buy only gadgets as gifts for others and also, they buy gadgets for themselves during Christmas holiday shopping season. For gadget companies and retailers, this is the most important time of business. Black Friday is the starting point of this shopping festival.
I have already stated that Black Friday 2008 has come against the backdrop of global economic slowdown. Just a week ago, many newspapers and websites reported that around 10 million people are unemployed in USA. Some people think that it is the worst condition in many decades. Many companies are going out of business and there is no hope of improving the condition in near future.
What is perhaps significant here to note is that the price of oil has decreased sharply in the last few weeks. In July, the price was $147 a barrel while, it hit $55 in this month. I have to say that only a year ago, no one could think that the price of oil would go down in such a dramatic fashion. It has happened because there has been significant fall in demand of oil because of global economic slowdown.
The bad part is that no one is looking for any improvement in next few months. At least, there is no hope that anything will change in 2008. So, for the retailers, Black Friday 200 may be the start of a black Christmas shopping season. Retailers are now praying with all their heart that Black Friday 2008 deals can attract enough people.
Enough of the economic recession. Let us now turn out attention to the Black Friday deals of 2008. The first thing that comes to our mind is how we can find about the special discounts and offers. Good thing for you is that Sean P. Aune has come up with Black Friday Deals: 10 Best Resources just for you. Take a look at the websites he has mentioned. Another great place is BestBuy and you should read this entry too: Black Friday 2008: List of Prices of the Laptops Offered by Best Buy.
Last year, Apple iPhone was very popular to many consumers. Now, Apple officials are perhaps also thinking of the ongoing economic recession and there is indication that Apple to offer bigger-than-normal Black Friday discounts this year. iPhone is very popular in USA and Apple wants to make the best out of this shopping season. Apple is also targeting to sell a lot of notebooks.
This time, mobile phone operators and companies are also coming out with some attractive black Friday deals. I have already talked about iPhone. I think that there can be a BlackBerry Storm vs Apple iPhone battle and I believe that iPhone will emerge as the winner. However, Blackberry Storm is not the only mobile phone set that is going to challenge iPhone. Black Friday 2008 may also see the Sony Xperia X1 as the iPhone Killer!
Apple officials may be confident of winning the war against rivals with iPhone, but a company that is not so confident is AMD. Things are going badly for AMD in the last few months. AMD is losing to its main rival Intel. So, the company needs some kind of magical turnaround during Black Friday 2008. One thing that can bring some comfort to AMD officials is that matter that AMD products are mainly used in cheaper and more inexpensive products compared to Intel. With high unemployment rate and uncertainty over the future, there is every possibility that most consumers will be keen to buy inexpensive gadgets. You can read more about it here: AMD prays for Black Friday surprise.
Apple will face serious challenge in laptop deals of Black Friday 2008. Apple notebooks are not cheap and this is something that may be a cause of concern for the company. I feel that Dell and Asus can score some big wins with their Black Friday 2008 deals. Already, there are many laptops with less than $500 and you should check this one: Asus Eee PC 900A for $280 at BestBuy. I feel that Black Friday 2008 will be the time of Netbooks and I would like you to read this entry: Why You'll Buy a Netbook On Black Friday.
I am afraid of the possible negative impact on Black Friday 2008 of the crisis that US auto industry is facing now. There is no doubt that Fall of American auto-industry will cause more job losses. This means more uncertainty. Nokia has predicted Bad forecast for Mobile Phone Demand. So, there is every reason that retailers are worried about Black Friday 2008.
As a consumer, you should also be worried about the possible attacks of Trojan and Spyware during Black Friday season. Last year, there was a lot of spyware attacks during Black Friday time and for some useful tips, I would like you to read the entry written by Kevin Hunt. You should be really very careful because during Black Friday you may have to pay by credit card.
I feel that American people are becoming too much obsessed with shopping. Millions of people in the world can not even get three decent meals a day. On the other hand, the American people spend millions of dollars for buying gifts during Christmas season. I feel that the decision makers, business leaders and leading economists should sit together and find some useful strategies to fight against the economic recessions. I wish that Black Friday 2008 comes up with some great deals.
