Another year of Black Friday blues

While Black Friday has come and gone, I really couldn't have cared less.

Don't get me wrong. There were sales. Sales galore. But interestingly enough, everything that I was interested in for the holiday shopping season couldn't be beat even with the doorbuster deals. And thus, it was a lazy Friday in getting out the door and catching up with some coffee. We had a great time, catching a movie and having dinner. Even bought a few things that we would have any other weekend. The sales just .... weren't there.

Now, granted the 3% increase from last year as reported by ShopperTrak gave some good indications that it might not be as bad this year. But from my personal perspective, I was a lot better off online. No lines, no hassles, and the deals were far cheaper and better and I had the pleasure of sleeping in.

Could be just me, but the e-commerce realm is finally flexing its muscle when it comes to sales. The holiday creep and constant search for parking doesn't have to be anymore with the mainstream arrival of Internet shopping. Let's face it. Cyber Monday was only coined in 2005. I know it seems a long time ago, but it has only been three years. And yet, the giants of Internet retail were busting out deals that brick and mortar shops just couldn't compete with. I saw the same Samsung 46" 1080p LCD TV online for $699USD as a sale versus $999USD as a doorbuster elsewhere.

I'd actually love to know if next year will be the same. Because if so, it'll just be another year of great sleep and rolling out of bed in your pajamas to point and click and wait for the nice UPS man to arrive with the Christmas presents. The holiday season isn't over yet, but I'm thinking it's going to be pretty relaxed this year.