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American Morning
Minding Your Business: Black Friday a Myth?
Aired November 28, 2003 - 09:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, back here with Mr. Lucky, stuck between two redheads, Heidi and Susan Lisovicz.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Aww, isn't he sweet?
HEMMER: Aww.
Hey, there's a myth, apparently, about this. The busiest shopping day of the year, not true? Is that right?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not true. It's absolutely not true.
Black Friday is actually a name that came from the 19th century, when retailers kept their books in black and red ink. And that was the day, way back then, when a lot of them went into the black for the year. But that is just a myth. And, in fact, black Friday has not been the busiest shopping day of the season for at least a decade now. As Heidi and I discussed earlier in the program, it is the Saturday before Christmas Day that is typically the busiest and often December 23, two days. Consumers have just been trained to wait for the bargains that come right close to Christmas.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Are you suggesting that something is wrong with procrastination?
LISOVICZ: Oh, no, not at all, since I'm guilty of it myself.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: But it's something that the retailers have fed to the consumers. And they have eagerly gulped it down. And so we're pushing it closer and closer to the actual day.
HEMMER: I'm wondering, too, the day after, the 26th, with all the take-backs and all the sales, that's a busy day also.
LISOVICZ: You mean...
HEMMER: December 26.
LISOVICZ: Oh, absolutely. And there are a lot of retailers who actually hold back and will bring things just out for that particular breed of bargain hunters as well. It's an important day, Black Friday, don't get me wrong, because it does set the tone for the holidays, in some cases. Retailers want to see how many people are in the stores, what they're buying, that kind of thing. But it is not the busiest day.
HEMMER: Quickly, I don't know what the volume is going to be like for stocks.
LISOVICZ: It's going to be light.
HEMMER: Yes, a shortened trading day?
LISOVICZ: Yes, absolutely.
Well, there, you see the Dow is down 11 points. But we're coming off a three-win -- three consecutive wins. This is actually also the last trading day of November. And even though we've talked about all these big gains, it's actually been a flat day for the month. SpongeBob SquarePants does the closing bell. That's why you saw all those kids at the New York Stock Exchange.
HEMMER: Yes. Oh, yes?
COLLINS: He's a star.
LISOVICZ: That's why you saw all those kids at the New York Stock Exchange. He is with a certain segment.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: You have a good weekend.
LISOVICZ: You as well.
HEMMER: Appreciate seeing you today.
COLLINS: Thanks, Susan.
HEMMER: All right, Susan.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 28, 2003 - 09:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, back here with Mr. Lucky, stuck between two redheads, Heidi and Susan Lisovicz.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Aww, isn't he sweet?
HEMMER: Aww.
Hey, there's a myth, apparently, about this. The busiest shopping day of the year, not true? Is that right?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not true. It's absolutely not true.
Black Friday is actually a name that came from the 19th century, when retailers kept their books in black and red ink. And that was the day, way back then, when a lot of them went into the black for the year. But that is just a myth. And, in fact, black Friday has not been the busiest shopping day of the season for at least a decade now. As Heidi and I discussed earlier in the program, it is the Saturday before Christmas Day that is typically the busiest and often December 23, two days. Consumers have just been trained to wait for the bargains that come right close to Christmas.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Are you suggesting that something is wrong with procrastination?
LISOVICZ: Oh, no, not at all, since I'm guilty of it myself.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: But it's something that the retailers have fed to the consumers. And they have eagerly gulped it down. And so we're pushing it closer and closer to the actual day.
HEMMER: I'm wondering, too, the day after, the 26th, with all the take-backs and all the sales, that's a busy day also.
LISOVICZ: You mean...
HEMMER: December 26.
LISOVICZ: Oh, absolutely. And there are a lot of retailers who actually hold back and will bring things just out for that particular breed of bargain hunters as well. It's an important day, Black Friday, don't get me wrong, because it does set the tone for the holidays, in some cases. Retailers want to see how many people are in the stores, what they're buying, that kind of thing. But it is not the busiest day.
HEMMER: Quickly, I don't know what the volume is going to be like for stocks.
LISOVICZ: It's going to be light.
HEMMER: Yes, a shortened trading day?
LISOVICZ: Yes, absolutely.
Well, there, you see the Dow is down 11 points. But we're coming off a three-win -- three consecutive wins. This is actually also the last trading day of November. And even though we've talked about all these big gains, it's actually been a flat day for the month. SpongeBob SquarePants does the closing bell. That's why you saw all those kids at the New York Stock Exchange.
HEMMER: Yes. Oh, yes?
COLLINS: He's a star.
LISOVICZ: That's why you saw all those kids at the New York Stock Exchange. He is with a certain segment.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: You have a good weekend.
LISOVICZ: You as well.
HEMMER: Appreciate seeing you today.
COLLINS: Thanks, Susan.
HEMMER: All right, Susan.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
