Cyber Monday Madness

As I type this late in the afternoon of Cyber Monday my inbox continues to be inundated with emails promising amazing deals only available today. Ugh! After enduring commercials for Black Friday since October, with sales kicking in right after Halloween, I’m over the hype. Now it’s just annoying. And with many of those pre-Black Friday sales held online rather than in stores, is there really a Cyber Monday advantage or has it become just another gimmick by e-tailers to lure shoppers to their sites?

One thing I have always wondered is why Monday when people are supposed to be working or in school. Why not Cyber Saturday (yes, I am aware that Saturday is “Small Business Saturday”) or Cyber Sunday so people could surf for bargains on their own time. Productivity plummets on this day as people flock to the internet in search of that perfect gift at the lowest price. If those folks put that much effort into their jobs, they’d blow the company’s metrics out of the water.

What got me on this topic came last night while I was watching the Sunday night football game – or at least trying to watch the game between commercials. A commercial from a not-to-be-named retailer that starts with “W” and ends with “mart” came on. It featured a high school principal, teachers, and students dancing around and singing energetically about shopping on their phones rather than sitting in class or paying attention because they just had to get those deals. The deals that are so amazing they make it OK to blow off the school day. I know it was an exaggeration but WTF, now kids are targeted!?

How the hell did we get to this point, where it’s more important - even encouraged – to forgo all responsibilities in the name of internet bargains on this “special” day? I’m not sure which is more repulsive to me, stores that open at 6AM or earlier on Black Friday – at least most no longer open on Thanksgiving Day – or the ads imploring more and more needless materialistic behavior.

I have nothing against shopping for a bargain, it’s the constant pummeling from ads imploring me to shop “here and now” or be left behind that bugs me. Maybe it’s the aging curmudgeon in me, though I never understood either the Black Friday madness or the need to shop online during Cyber Monday. I did appreciate the lack of meetings, emails, calls, etc. during that workday since most of my colleagues were busy shopping instead of working. It made for a quiet and productive Monday!

www.RetiredandInspiredat55.com 12-04-2023