Commerce like cocaine That's why Black Friday leaves me completely cold

Bargain or bait-and-switch offer? Shoppers have to ask themselves this question particularly often these days, because - as every year - retailers play tricks on Black Friday. Our author doesn't fall for it.

I am perfectly happy - materially that is.

But that's not the only reason why the Black Friday shopping hype leaves me cold.

Huge discount signs, sales countdowns and special offers that change every hour: Retail and online retailers have been outbidding each other with special offers for days - until the discount battle reaches its orgiastic climax later today, Friday, November 28.

Back then, I was also running up and down 5th Avenue

I experienced my first Black Friday in New York in the 1990s. Back then, I also ran up and down 5th Avenue in Manhattan - hoping to get a super cool bargain.

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving - and in the USA it's the start of the shopping season, er, Advent. The holiday season, as many Americans say. On this day, companies lure shoppers, at least apparently, with super discounts and other insane promotions.

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In Switzerland, Black Friday doesn't have much of a tradition. According to my research, the department store Manor celebrated the first Black Friday made in Switzerland ten years ago - without me.

Nevertheless, the start was spectacular: Manor achieved three times the normal daily turnover on Black Friday in 2015.

I'm a spoilsport

But as I said: I played spoilsport - and to this day, I haven't been tempted once by one of these fabulous Black Friday offers.

For the simple reason that no-one has ever been able to give me any good reason why I should have to struggle through overcrowded stores where terrible discount battles rage between young and old.

My motto on this day, no, during the entire pre-Christmas period: keep a cool head.

And almost more importantly: avoid all Christmas markets.

Momoll, me smarty-pants realized early on: consumers buy supposedly super-cheap products on Black Friday that they won't actually need.

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Or as consumer and trend analyst Carl Tillessen explains in Der Spiegel: "Discounts switch off our sense of pain and the feeling of reward immediately takes over. We feel unadulterated joy when we make a purchase."

He continues: "You feel valued, and that also triggers very strong feelings of happiness."

Unfortunately, that's not all.

Then comes what happens after every high: the hangover

In the meantime, science has also discovered that buying things regularly can trigger a behavioral addiction. Biochemical processes are triggered in the human brain in the same way as when consuming cocaine or amphetamine.

According to the experts, this state is comparable to being in love, so it's no wonder that Black Friday is becoming more and more popular ...

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It's just a shame when consumers buy things that end up gathering dust in a box a little later. Until at some point what happens after every binge occurs:

the hangover.

Or as expert Tillessen explains: "But if you buy things you don't need and they end up somewhere straight away, our dopamine levels quickly drop again. The next craving purchase then only fills the low between the highs."

But I've already mentioned that I'm materially happy.

And that's why Black Friday is leaving me completely cold this year too - except that my bosses told me to write this text.

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