Whew. What a week it was last week. Now that the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is behind us, there are several takeaways I noticed as I participated in the “festivities,” of the weekend.
Black and Blue Thursday
Since the sales can no longer be confined to “Black Friday,” Thanksgiving night had me out and about, people watching at the Minden Walmart. My family and I strategically waited until after the 6 p.m. “reveal” to allow those brave souls to garner their discounted treasurers. However, even an hour after kickoff, parking was still hard to find.
Once inside, I saw mostly smiles, as if people understood how ridiculous it was to be at that place at that time. I heard about a scuffle near the discounted sheets, but otherwise, a good time was had by all. Stage, on the other hand was busy, but not crazy. Deals were plenteous, and staff was friendly.
Black Friday
With little sleep, we embarked on the “out of town” event of Black Friday. Our family had orchestrated a plan of attack that would have made Gen. George S. Patton proud. We were armed with all the intelligence necessary for a successful mission, thanks to the sale circulars in the Thanksgiving edition of the Press-Herald. With laser-guided precision, we hit the designated targets. Interestingly, Target was not one of our targets.
Small Business Saturday
By far my favorite of the three outings, our Small Business Saturday kicked off at Geaux Fresh for brunch. The place was hopping, and there were smiles everywhere. The bacon pecan pancakes were on point as well.
We hit just about every locally owned retail in town, including some we had never visited in the past. Armed with our Small Business Saturday passports, we shopped, received stamps, and entered contests. It felt good to not only find interesting gifts, but also knowing that we were directly helping the local economy.
Cyber Monday
Perhaps the most unproductive day of the year at businesses across America, I curtailed my Cyber Monday purchases to Amazon, where at least some of the tax dollars make their way back to Louisiana, and hopefully Minden. Following the weekend of in-person purchases, the online shopping wasn’t as fun, albeit more convenient.
Reports from the weekend say we were not alone in our shopping extravaganza. Record sales were being reported all over, and that’s a good thing. While some may see the consumer nature of our economy as selfish, we need to remember that businesses, especially retail businesses, pay the for things like roads, schools, public safety, etc., through their tax dollars. More sales = more taxes paid. More profits = more taxes paid. This past weekend can be the start of an uptick for our local economy that, if sustained, could really help improve things across the board.
Thank you for shopping. Keep it up.