5 a.m. at the malls

I'd like to say I'm a dedicated enough blogger that I was up this morning to go to the Kohl's at Northwest Highway and Abrams to see who would actually be there  when the store opened at 5. But I wasn't, and I can't say I feel too bad about it.

Apparently, many of the stores that opened that early were busy. This raises all sorts of questions (it's inconvenient for people to vote, but they can get up that early the day after Thanksgiving?). But what it reinforces, for good or bad, is that we live in a shopping culture. This has always fascinated me, because I just don't understand the idea of shopping for shopping's sake. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Comments

[Rick Casner]

It is not shopping for shopping's sake. It is taking advantage of GREAT sales. We get most of our Holiday shopping for the kids out of the way and save considerable money. What is confusing about that?

And I vote, so the argument does not work with my household.

[Rick Wamre]

I agree with Rick, although I didn't get up at 5 a.m. to spend my money. A lot of times, particularly if you have really young children, those sales are great because they often involve lots of toys and games. Unfortunately, my kids are older now, and since I didn't see any big Under Armour clothing deals and they don't really need a 42-inch plasma tv in their rooms, I waited until about 10 a.m. to get out and spend some money. And I vote, too, although I probably would arrive earlier to vote if I was receiving some type of Best Buy coupon or being entered for a chance to win $1 million...

[mak]

It's what wrong with our culture, where people are so focused on shopping for happiness. Yes, you can get a few items for "sale", but, have you ever thought of the value of your time?

On the other hand, it is also what's great about our culture, where people have the freedom to get up at 4:00 A. M. to go shopping. I choose not to get up that early, and join the day after Thanksgiving "shopping mania" but, if someone else wants to, they can do so...

[Rick Wamre]

A nagging thought that is starting to creep into my head...how much more stuff can there really be to buy? I have an HDTV, and it works great, but I found myself considering buying a larger HDTV after being pelted with all of the "incredible" deals in the market right now. And I can't be the only person caught up in the shopping mania, whether it's midnight sales or noon buys. Forgetting about the cost and the money, I wonder hard hard it will be to resist the ever-more precision-targeted sales pitches that will keep coming in as marketers become even more savvy.