Shropshire Star comment: To splurge is to help our own
America has much to answer for. And the rush to buy vast quantities of goods on Black Friday is an Americanism that many might prefer to be without.
But like it or not, Black Friday is a fixture that is here to stay.
Across the region, retailers of all sizes will be enticing customers into their shops – physical and online – with the promise of a bargain. It’s enough to make some blow their Christmas budget before December even arrives.
And yet those who justify inappropriate levels of spending by looking only at the savings, rather than the cost, should think twice.
It is easy to be seduced by the lure of a bargain and with shopping easier than ever, many will run up bills they can ill afford. They should desist. Internet shopping and splashing the cash on credit cards is too easy and many live to forget hasty purchases.
The rule on spending must always be that if you either cannot afford it or don’t really need it then keep your wallet closed. Leave the spending to those who need to buy and are in the position to cash-in on a bargain.
Justify
Many are cynical about Black Friday and it is easy to understand why. It does little to bolster our nation’s economy, with money frequently being spent on imported consumer goods.
There is nothing remotely wholesome or laudable about people fighting over large HD TVs in local supermarkets or barging past one another to snatch products before they disappear.
The entire thing has been invented in recent times then imported to the UK to justify a pre-Christmas spending splurge.
That said, there are many local retailers who rely on the festive season to keep them in business. And in the current climate, the High Street needs every help it can get.
As estimated £4.5 billion will be spent in this year’s Black Friday sales and we must hope it goes some way to assisting local independent stores while also helping such under pressure outlets as M&S and Debenhams.
A great number of families across Shropshire and Mid-Wales depend on a healthy High Street to remain in work and put food on the family table. And so love it or loathe it, we ought to put up with Black Friday and look at the way it helps some to remain in work.
