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Students share perspectives on Black Friday By erin lynch and sasha narang

Apple was one of the busiest stores on Black Friday, but many left disappointed when they found out that Apple does not offer deals on their latest iPhones, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X.

After a long night of eating, many students burned off the turkey by going Black Friday shopping. Students flooded local malls, and took advantage of the massive sales in their favorite stores.

Westfield Trumbull Mall was a popular location this Black Friday among students. “I go to Trumbull Mall pretty often,” Nick Bilotti ’18 said. “But Black Friday was significantly more crowded. I’ve never had to wait for a parking spot for so long.”

Almost every store located at the Westfield Trumbull Mall placed signs outside of their shops to broadcast their deals with the hopes of attracting shoppers.

Bilotti went on to explain how lines of cars filled the multiple entrances of the mall as many fought for parking spots. “I was behind two cars who nearly crashed because they were both trying to pull into the same spot,” Bilotti said.

Bridget French ’18 believes that Black Friday is overrated. She thinks that the only stores worth waiting for are electronic and toy stores. “You are not likely to get a real deal. If you go to the mall during the day you will get out of season or bad quality clothes that a store is trying to get rid of.” French said.

Many feel the same way as French, believing that the sales are not worth it. Although items may be cheaper, the quality tends to lack.

Mandee offered several deals like most stores. Rather than percentage sales they categorized their clothing and gave each categorize a distinct price.

Other than the poor quality, students find it to be overly time consuming. “Going to the mall or going to stores on Black Friday is a complete waste of time,” Amanda Braverman ’20 said. “You will be standing on line to pay for over an hour. Online Black Friday shopping is the way to go.”

Employees from stores explained their perspective on Black Friday. “It’s obviously crazier. Everyone wants to take advantage of the sales.” Diana, an employee from Victoria Secret, said.

Abercrombie & Fitch sale was 50 percent off of the entire store. The dressing room line and the checkout line were both several people long.

She elaborated on the abundance of discounts in her store, which drew in far more customers than average.

“There is a lot more activity because there is a lot more sales,” Stephen, an Abercrombie & Fitch employee, said. “You meet a lot of interesting people, and it is around the holiday time so it is a lot of fun.”

Littman Jewelers offered 25 percent deal on everything in the store, as well as an opportunity for store goers to enter into a lottery with the prize being a vacation.

Due to the massive sales, many take advantage of the low prices and get most of their holiday shopping done. The mall debuts their holiday spirit with decorations throughout their stores, helping to encourage the gift giving mindset.

“My mom and I go every year to get presents for my family. The decorations get me really excited.” Leo Aronson ’20 said.

Even though it was only a day after Thanksgiving stores seemed to be fully transitioning into the holiday spirit.

Abby Greenblatt ’18 shared a similar opinion. “I don’t even celebrate Christmas but the decorations around the mall on Black Friday really hyped me up,” she said. “I bought a ton of discounted ugly Christmas sweaters for my friends to help get into the holiday spirit.”

Whether you dread or look forward to Black Friday, there is some irony to the situation:

“Black Friday is funny,” Bridget French ’18 said. “The night before everyone is saying how thankful there are for all that they have, meanwhile knowing they are going to get up in the morning to buy more things.”

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