Promoting the overconsumption of products through crafty marketing tactics results in harmful impacts on the environment and individuals.
Strategically placed to start the holiday season, Black Friday is celebrated by both companies and consumers. It is one of the most important days of the year for businesses because it consistently brings in masses of customers. According to Walden University, 169 million shoppers participated in either in-person or online shopping on Black Friday in 2024.
Started in the 1960s, the idea of the holiday is that companies give drastic discounts on their items, and consumers buy more for less. While it poses an opportunity for people to acquire necessary items at a lower price, it is risky when they purchase things for no reason, as online shoppers spent $10.8 billion on sales in 2024, according to NPR.
On Black Friday, overconsumption is displayed as shoppers race through malls with loads of bags on their arms, striving to get as much as they can. With the use of sales and marketing tactics, it is easy for people to fall victim to buying things they didn’t need or didn’t come for.
An effective marketing tactic is flash sales, which communicate urgency — reducing time for consumers to think rationally — and promote impulsive decisions.
Flash sales allow companies to take advantage of the concept of loss aversion, which claims people feel the pain of a loss greater than the joy of a gain. By giving time constraints on purchases, stores pressure customers into making quick decisions, assuming they will fear missing a great deal.
Stores also exaggerate discounts on their items, making people believe they are saving more money than they are. This is shown by signs that have the original price in small lettering with descriptive words about the deal taking up most of the space.
The music that stores play on Black Friday is not a coincidence, either; rather, it is used to a company’s advantage. Christmas songs invoke feelings of nostalgia, and calming sounds help relax customers to spend more money.
Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare reported that music can relieve stress and match one’s mood to the songs’ energy. So, the use of calming and nostalgic music in stores recharges customers amid a chaotic day, encouraging them to feel comfortable to spend more money.
Marketing tactics convince shoppers to buy in excess, furthering the consequences of immoderate spending.
Overconsumption is an ongoing issue that will have detrimental impacts on society. Environmentally, it can lead to long-term effects of climate change from the release of hot gases into the atmosphere, pollution from factories and habitat loss for agriculture and infrastructure, which is a primary factor in animal extinction, according to the Sustainability Directory.
Alongside broader impacts, individuals pay the price as well. The prioritization of material items over social connections can encourage isolation, influencing one’s relationships and community.
To combat wastefulness, people can participate in the movement of Green Friday, which encourages customers to buy from eco-friendly businesses or none at all. It promotes mindful consumption amid a society immersed in excessive spending.
However, Black Friday is not harmful in every aspect; it poses key opportunities for people to save money on things they want or need. It becomes a problem when customers fall for advertising that results in purchasing cheap, unnecessary items.
So, this Black Friday, fight against the marketing tactics and make sound decisions about purchases. The impacts of overconsumption are not worth the extra items in your cart.
This story was written by Amelia Lerret. She can be reached at [email protected].
