<font color=skyblue>Those in the US know what it means...Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving where people line up outside stores at 4am to fight their way through the violent crowd that is the Christmas Shopper Mob. Some people can expect to get hurt. Some people can expect to be the one behind the guy who bought the last item of the thing you wanted and it makes one have murderous tendancies...and some people will stay in bed and hide under the sheets until its all over.

Internet shopping has reduced the lines, but not significantly. A poll showed that only 7% of shoppers avoid the lines and seek the "on"line. That may change somewhat this season.

The companies that market on the internet will be offering their own special day where they will offer amazing prices and special deals, including free shipping on all purchases, some with no cost requirement. This day will take place on November the 4th. Already, I see stores like Amazon.com gearing up to attract more customers.

On the other hand, my father told me about something very odd concerning Walmart and when I did a search for it, I found it. </font>

<font color=skyblue>Now I don't know about you, but around here Christmas means spending more money than you should and buying the best toys months before so that you'll not have to listen to children whining because they did not get the things they wanted. Thus, the layaway is a useful tool to help ease the burden of cost and provides a place to keep the secret stuff until needed. Since Walmart will be cancelling this service I see more people definately doing their layaways at places like Target. I am sure they are wrong when they say that they will not see a decrease in sales.

Opinions on any section of this post?</font>

Doesn't anyone else find it ironic that in celebrating the religions biggest holiday, people acctually commit at least 4 out of the 7 deadly sins... Greed, avarice, gluttony and envy and possibly wrath too (...when the A---hole in front of you grabs that last item...)

I do [img]smile.gif[/img]

You're totally right about the Wal-Mart thing, I think...I can see their point though...<font color=green>"Hey, you can't afford to buy this all at once? It's okay. Here, pay us some interest via this card on your purchases...it's like layaway, only we don't have to spend money storing your crap."</font>

It's for this reason that I say that layaways are doomed. Stores "spend money" warehousing their goods. Get it off the shelf faster, and you make more money, and don't need as many laborers in the back making illegal amounts of money.

I dunno, overall, I believe that stores are marketing so much to my age group that they can't help but try to react to what they think is a run on their profits via the internet...and I think they're right, to a degree. To a Wal-Mart/Target/whatever CFO, a loss of 7% of the shoppers across the board is devastating.

To a multi-billion dollar coorporation, anyway.

You or I certainly wouldn't care.

Consumerism is a frightening culture...I really don't want to take part in its excesses, but I don't really like gardening, and I enjoy video games, so I guess I'm trapped.

I can see Walmart cancelling layaways. They are so focused on keeping the lowest price possible that it's pretty much inevitable.

I don't think they'll see a decrease in sales, either - at least not for that reason. There are too many cheap people that love that place.

I, on the other hand, am one of those people that have a hate on for Walmart - and I see more backlash coming for them.

Just what the typical Wal-Mart customer needs...a credit card. I hardly see the "low-interest" tag in front of it, since we all know that it really means "limited time low interest rate".

Wal-Mart is probably tired of customers who lay-a-away several hundred dollars worth of Christmas gifts, only to find out they don't have that much money come December. The customer will do the only logical thing and pay for whatever they can afford, and leave the rest. With a credit card, Wal-Mart doesn't have to worry about losing sales to a minor issue like their customer not being able to afford it...they'll get their money + interest!