Inside the Minds of Black Friday Shoppers

Black Friday inspires some hard lines in people. While there’s a camp of Black Friday fanatics who love the smell of commerce in the morning, there’s another equally large camp of people who believe Black Friday is a sign of the pending apocalypse.

But all the haters out there who think Black Friday is only about consumerism gone stark, raving mad may not be seeing the full picture. This Popular Science article suggests most Black Friday shoppers aren’t really in it for the sales. Things like tradition, socializing, spending time with family members, or even plain old enjoyment of this “event day” play as big a role (if not a bigger one) in compelling Black Friday shopping.

If this peek into the minds of Black Friday shoppers has you intrigued or you just want to go back to thinking all Black Friday shoppers are total lunatics, you can also check out this New York Times article exploring how ordinary shoppers can transform into dangerous mobs on Black Friday.