It’s 3:23 a.m. and the rain is coming down. I can see my breath while I stand in line with a couple hundred of my new best friends. My fingers are numb as they grip the umbrella handle. The lady next to me leans in for shelter. The hot doughnut box comes around. The glaze is cracked from the cold. I study my store map.
In 37 minutes the doors will open and my compatriots will become my enemies. As the heat from inside rolls over me, my glasses fog up, but I’m prepared because the hunt is on.
It’s Black Friday in America, and it’s my favorite holiday of the year.
The scene repeats each year like clockwork. The variables differ, but the thrill remains the same – get the deal and get it first.
Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year. From TVs and laptops to coats and waffle irons, the National Retail Foundation says 151 million people went shopping the day after Thanksgiving last year, spending on average just under $300 each. The NRF expects retail sales in November and December this year to increase 3.6 percent to $655.8 billion – with roughly a third spent on children’s toys.
With that in mind, The Washington Post article, “Why you should always buy the men’s version of almost anything,” gave me pause. According to the Post, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs compared nearly 800 products with female and male versions – meaning they were practically identical except for the gender-specific packaging – and uncovered a persistent surcharge for one of the sexes.
Take the Radio Flyer scooter for example. The company sells a red scooter for boys and a pink scooter for girls which both feature plastic handlebars, three wheels and a foot brake. However, the red one sells for $24.99 at Target. The pink one? It sold for double – $49.99.
But it doesn’t stop with toys. The study found the biggest discrepancy when it came to hair care products and razors. On average, items marketed to girls and women cost 7 percent more than similar products aimed at boys and men.
Why does it have to be pink vs. blue?
It’s a simple question with broader national, political and philosophical implications.
It’s ingrained within us – men are from Mars, women are from Venus. Little boys play with trucks and baseballs; little girls play with Barbie and dresses.
What if we weren’t men and women, but simply just humans? What does that change?
Does it change our president-elect? Does it change the fact that zero percent of Springfield’s largest employers are run by women? Does it change the hopes and dreams of our sons and daughters?
Two recent interviews gave me hope change is on the horizon.
Nancy O’Reilly would say it starts with the next generation.
“They’re clay. We’re creating them each day,” the Women Connect4Good Inc. president said during Springfield Business Journal’s mot recent 12 People You Need to Know breakfast.
District 132 Congresswoman-elect Crystal Quade would say we are ready to break the barriers.
“I brought my daughters with me to vote,” she said. “Even if Hillary didn’t win, to see a woman’s name on the ballot for president is powerful. I want them to know they can do anything.”
As Black Friday approaches, my shortsightedness might be on the $10 dog bed, but I always keep my eyes on the future.
Since the Post article was published last Christmas, Target has changed the price of its pink Radio Flyer, calling it a system error. Maybe we’re stuck with our national “system error” for the next four years, but that time shouldn’t be wasted. Change is possible, as long as we recognize it needs to happen.
And that’s the best deal of all.
Springfield Business Journal Features Editor Emily Letterman can be reached at eletterman@sbj.net.
