The commercialization of Thanksgiving

The shopping frenzy known as Black Friday has become deeply intertwined with the holiday season. Across the nation, millions of shoppers pile up to get heavily discounted items, be it a Christmas present for their family or friends, or a treat for themselves. Big box stores are the heavy hitters for this tradition. Televisions, computers, tablets, furniture, clothing and toys are some of the most popular choices for the frenzied Black Friday Shopper. Due to years of practice; it’s become an expectation for both the shoppers and the retailers. For small businesses in the Valley, it’s another story. While some have actual Black Friday sales, it’s not nearly on the same scale as the larger companies. In a collection of interviews, a sample of small businesses across the Valley has reported that business is usually average or just above average on Black Friday. Small Business Saturday tends to be more of the focus for Valley store owners.

“Black Friday is just a normal day for us. However Small Business Saturday is the best of the entire year for us,” said Susan Miller, owner of Garden Gate, a women’s clothing boutique and gift shop in Palmer.

Miller said that she can’t compete with the drastically reduced items that bigger companies offer and would be unwise to try. It’s more common for shoppers to hit the big box stores first then stop by the smaller “brick and mortars” after. She does offer some special deals on Black Friday but her focus is aimed toward the following day. During Small Business Saturday, her store offers discount prices and also offers refreshments and gift giveaways to the first 50 customers. She said last year’s Small Business Saturday was “wildly successful.” She said that the locally focused sale is beneficial not only to the businesses but to the community and state as whole. She is thankful for her customer base- something that other small business owners agree is vital to sustaining themselves.

“There’s been a lot of pressure put on small businesses from the big box stores,” Miller said.

Due to competition, Black Friday keeps pulling back earlier each year. In fact, most of the highest sales recorded are actually on Thursday, otherwise known as Thanksgiving. This new tradition of shopping on a family-oriented holiday is unsettling to some business owners. Just Imagine Toys in Wasilla is closed for Thanksgiving.

“We firmly believe that we should be closed on Thanksgiving, and we are,” said Just Imagine Toys owner, Mary Scheie. “I think it should be family time.”

Just Imagine Toys does have a 10 percent discount for Black Friday, but like Garden Gate they focus more on Small Business Saturday. This year, there will also be a 10 percent discount but in addition to sales, there will be coffee from Kaladi Brothers and donuts from Donut King.

“We’re big on shopping local,” Scheie said.

Business Black Friday itself has usually been a fairly active day for Just Imagine Toys, but now that Black Friday has been pulling back to Thursday, Scheie said that business is slowing down a bit; which she is OK with because her emphasis is on Saturday.

All I Saw Cookware owner David Nyberg said his business on Black Friday is “better than average,” but nothing substantial. Nyberg doesn’t rely on that one day of the year to get in the black.

“The big guys, if they don’t have a good Black Friday, they’re not gonna’ make it,” Nyberg said.

Nyberg has been in business in the Meta Rose Center in Wasilla since building was put up. Recently, he and his wife, Jackie Susuan took their All I Saw Cookware and her company, Mimi’s Closet, to the Center Plaza, off Knik-Goose Bay Road. Their stores are right next to each other and have an open wall so one can walk from one store to the other inside. They moved because they felt the building’s future was up in the air and decided to grab the space up the road while it was still open. He said over the years, business has slowed and he and his wife are figuring it out as they go in these, “uncertain times.” He said that a big reason why people have shifted their attention to big box stores instead of small businesses is because they are always trying to “pinch a penny.” He noted that the extra pressure is on both the shopper and the retailer to get the best deal and it seems like Christmas shopping begins earlier every year.

“Christmas is commercialized enough,” Heidi Scheie, Mary’s daughter and employee, said. “Now they’ve commercialized Thanksgiving,”