Black Friday Stats on Shoppers, Spending, and Purchases

In 2016, more than 154 million people in the U.S. shopped in stores and online over  the Thanksgiving weekend, according to a survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation (NRF). Thats more than 60 percent of the nations total population of adults. The NRF data indicates that nearly 100 million people shopped in stores over the holiday weekend while 108 million shopped online, and some, of course, did both. The NRF survey results show that Black Friday shopping appeals more to Millennials—adults aged 18 to 34 years—than it does to others. They were more likely to shop over the holiday weekend, and they were more likely to shop for themselves (doing more of their shopping online than in person). And they say that baseball is the ultimate American pastime?  In a consumerist culture, its shopping. How Much We  Spent The average shopper spent about $290  dollars over the three-day period, according to NRF, down ten dollars from 2015. ShopperTrak estimates that this resulted in $12.1 billion dollars spent over Thursday and Friday, with the majority of it, $10 million, spent on Black Friday. According to Adobe Insights, $5.2 billion was spent online during this two-day period. According to Mindshare, online sales for the four-day period of November 24-27 broke records, with total spending of $9.36 billion, which represents more than a 16 percent increase over 2015. Shoppers spent more online than ever on  Black Friday, at more than $3 billion. Not to be outdone, Cyber Monday broke previous records as well, with consumers spending $3.4 billion in one day, according to Adobe Insights. This was not only a 12 percent increase over Cyber Monday 2015, it is also a figure that makes Cyber Monday 2016 the most lucrative online retail day in history. Who Spent the Most Contrary to the stereotypical image of women as shopaholics, it was actually men who spent the most on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Mindshare reported prior to the shopping events that men surveyed anticipated spending nearly 69% more than the average woman, or $417 compared to $247. Mindshares survey also showed that it was older adults, those aged 35-54 who intended to spend the most of any age group, at an average of $356 per person. Millennials, however, were right behind them at a projected $338. This level of spending among Millennials, considerably higher than the average for all shoppers, might strike some as curious, or even selfish, given that they were more likely to shop for themselves than other age groups.  Its worth noting that Millennials have struggled financially during early adulthood in ways that previous generations have not, thanks in part to the Great Recession and to the ever-soaring mountain of student debt. Due in large part to these and other economic factors, Millennial adults are more likely to live at home with their parents than any other previous generation of young adults since 1880.  For these reasons, its quite likely that many among this age group use the opportunity of Black Friday discounts to purchase necessities or minor luxuries that they cant otherwise afford. How  and When They Shopped Though many  likely think of Black Friday and the entire Thanksgiving weekend as a frenzy of shoppers battling for deals at big box stores across the country, NRF data show that more people actually shopped online than in-store this year. Over the holiday weekend, online shopping was at its peak on Black Friday, until, of course, Cyber Monday rolled around. The vast majority of in-store shopping took place on Black Friday too, but again, bucking the stereotypical image, most people did not line up early or camp out for Thanksgiving or Black Friday deals. Only a small fraction of shoppers did this, and it turns out that they are more likely to men and to be Millennials. Mindshare notes that both groups were looking for specific deals on these days, and that they expected the in-store deals to be better than those found online. Where They Shopped and What They Bought The NRF found that more than half who went out to shop over the holiday weekend visited a department store like Macys and Nordstrom, and more than a third shopped at discount stores like Walmart or Target. Slightly less than a third visited an electronics store, and about 28 percent shopped at a store for clothing or accessories. One in four holiday shoppers visited a grocery store or supermarket. The NRF reported  that clothing and accessories led as the most popular gift items among those surveyed, with toys in second place. Electronics, books, CDs, DVDs, videos and video games, and gift cards rounded out the most common items that shoppers intended to buy as gifts. Online shoppers flocked to electronics items, including Samsung 4K televisions, Apples iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini, Microsofts Xbox One, and Sonys Playstation 4, according to Adobe Insights. Likely an indication of why men planned to spend more than women during the holiday shopping extravaganza, Mindshare reported that men were more likely than women to buy big-ticket items, including cars and auto parts, electronics, and video games. Women, on the other hand, reported plans to buy clothing and other fashion items, electronics, and toys. Among the toys sold online during Cyber Monday, Adobe Insights reported that Lego sets were the most popular item,  followed by Shopkins, Nerf, Barbie, and Little Live Pets. Why They Went Unsurprisingly, the NRF-commissioned survey found that half of all in-store shoppers said they had gone out on Thanksgiving and the subsequent days because the deals were too good to pass up. And it was women, more so than men, who were motivated to shop by a desire to find the best deals and discounts, according to Mindshare. Men, on the other hand, were more likely to be out shopping for specific items. The vast majority of those polled by NRF—about 3-in-4—shopped in order to buy gifts for others. Interestingly, from a sociological standpoint, NRF found that a third of in-store shoppers reported that they shopped because it was tradition, and  a quarter said they did it because it gave them something to do over the holiday weekend. And that, folks, is the very definition of consumerism.

The Cask Of Amontillado, By Edgar Allan Poe - 1776 Words

The purpose of the short stories â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, â€Å"El Tonto del Barrio†, and â€Å"Cathedral† is to explore the concepts of prominence in religion driven by symbolism, characterization, and theme used to manipulated the reader’s analytical views. Christianity plays an imperative role on all three short stories by the author’s through their descriptive scenarios symbolizing a religious ideology. Edgar Allan Poe’s use of religion as a hidden message in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is portrayed through the ambiance developed in and the characters symbolism compared to Christianity and Freemasonry. In comparison, â€Å"Cathedral† exposes Christian principles shown in the beginning through the title and the symbolism behind the characters description. On the other hand, â€Å"El Tonto del Barrio† unveils the principles of Christianity via the theme of greed. Thus, all of the three short stories have a dee per meaning directed towards a religious audience that can capture the symbolism behind the story. As a writer of mysterious and gruesome tales, Edgar Allan Poe incorporated in his literature his understanding or position of heaven and hell. For example, in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, Poe connects religion with a horror fiction short story of revenge and guilt between two characters, Montresor and Fortunato. Hence, Poe decides to have the short story centered on a first person point of view directed towards either God, the devil, or a priest by stating, â€Å"You, who so well know the natureShow MoreRelatedThe Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe888 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe In ?The Cask of Amontillado?, Edgar Allan Poe takes us on a trip into the mind of a mad man. Poe uses certain elements to convey an emotional impact. He utilizes irony, descriptive detail of setting, and dark character traits to create the search of sinful deceit. Poe also uses first person, where the narrator is the protagonist who is deeply involved. The purpose is to get the reader to no longer be the observer. He wants them to see with MontressorRead MoreThe Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe836 Words   |  3 Pagesqualities in the story. In the story many things are used as symbols such as the actual cask of amontillado, the trowel, the jester costume and the setting in which there is two in the story. Another literary technique used significantly in the story is irony. Irony is the expression of ones meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite. In the short story â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado,† Montresor a very troubled man who plans to seek revenge on another man named FortunatoRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe And The Cask Of Amontillado1384 Words   |  6 PagesWhat makes Edgar Allan Poe work unique? Other than being a strange individual, Poe has become a remarkable literature writer. The Raven, Annabel Lee, and The Cask of Amontillado are just a few of Poe’s work that staples the theme of gothic literature. This essay will allow you to see the gothic elements Edgar Allan Poe uses through his most common poems. Gothic literature has many elements which play into its definition. The actual definition is a style of writing that is characterized by elementsRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe906 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† was written in 1846, by Edgar Allan Poe. Born in 1809, Poe never knew any of his parents. At the age of three, his mother died of tuberculosis, and his father deserted the family before he was born. Taking care of him was his foster parents in Richmond, Virginia. They loved Poe, but were not supportive of his decisions and kept Poe poor. Having debt and not being able to provide food and clothes for himself caused Poe to quit school. Later, heRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe920 Words   |  4 Pageswhen that trust no longer exists? In â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† written by Edgar Allan Poe, Fortunato is about to find the answer to this question. On the surface, Montresor seems friendly with Fortunato, but deep down he feels nothing but hate for him. Could this hatred have an irrationality that only Montresor understands? In different ways, both of these men are proud and affluent, yet both have downfalls that will l ead to a tragic ending. Edgar Allan Poe’s use of language contributes to the understandingRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe1555 Words   |  7 PagesIn his writing, Edgar Allan Poe has multiple uses of direct and indirect characterization. In The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor had rules such as â€Å"I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong† (Poe, 2). Poe used indirect characterization to show the reader that Montresor is an unreliable narrator because he justified hisRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe1303 Words   |  6 PagesIn Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado,† the narrator recalls an extremely significant time in his life, and takes the reader along with him. Throughout the story, one experiences a perfectly planned murder which took place over fifty years ago, and still no one has discovered what truly happened to poor Fortunato as he was chained to a wall in a room that was then closed off, and torched to death due to all the nitre in the walls. As the story goes on, the reader can see some of Poe’s unfortunateRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe1076 Words   |  5 PagesThe short story, The Cask of Amontillado, written by Edgar Allan Poe is a story of terror and betrayal. Like many of Poe’s literary works, the story has a dark undertone with a theme of terror and depression. More than half a century ago, Marshall McLuhan argued that though Poe was fascinated by evil, the evil that he had in mind was not that of Calvinism, but that of the split man and the split civilization. In general, McLuhan was right, but in this instance Calvinism, and its God, provided a darkRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe707 Words   |  3 PagesIn the short story of The Ca sk of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe writes in first person point of view from the perspective of Montresor who seeks revenge against Fortunato. Montresor began to develop the perfect plan for revenge. During the carnival season, Montresor meets with Fortunato and decides to implement his plan carefully through irony. Poe s story describes the murderer s mind which has lived as a memory of Fortunato s death for fifty years. Poe uses different types of irony and symbolismRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe985 Words   |  4 PagesEdgar Allen Poe is a well known author of short stories and poetry from the 19th century. He is known especially for his stories of horror and suspense. The Cask of Amontillado is one of his more famous pieces. The story follows the narrator, Montresor, as he exacts revenge on Fortunato. Montressor draws Fortunato into the wine cellar where eventually he chains Fortunato to the wall and encloses him inside it. Throughout the story the narrator continually proves that he is not the most reliable source

Deception Point Page 62 Free Essays

Pickering seemed to consider this a long time, gently stroking his tie. â€Å"And yet taking into account the amount NASA has to gain from this discovery right now, the apparent signs of tampering with evidence, and your being attacked†¦ the first and only logical conclusion I can draw is that this meteorite is a well-executed fraud.† â€Å"Impossible!† Corky sounded angry now. We will write a custom essay sample on Deception Point Page 62 or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"With all respect, sir, meteorites are not some Hollywood special effect that can be conjured up in a lab to fool a bunch of unsuspecting astrophysicists. They are chemically complex objects with unique crystalline structures and element ratios!† â€Å"I am not challenging you, Dr. Marlinson. I am simply following a logical chain of analysis. Considering someone wanted to kill you to keep you from revealing it was inserted under the ice, I’m inclined to entertain all kinds of wild scenarios here. What specifically makes you certain this rock is indeed a meteorite?† â€Å"Specifically?† Corky’s voice cracked in the headphones. â€Å"A flawless fusion crust, the presence of chondrules, a nickel ratio unlike anything ever found on earth. If you’re suggesting that someone tricked us by manufacturing this rock in a lab, then all I can say is that the lab was about 190 million years old.† Corky dug in his pocket and pulled out a stone shaped like a CD. He held it in front of the camera. â€Å"We chemically dated samples like this with numerous methods. Rubidium-strontium dating is not something you can fake!† Pickering looked surprised. â€Å"You have a sample?† Corky shrugged. â€Å"NASA had dozens of them floating around.† â€Å"You mean to tell me,† Pickering said, looking at Rachel now, â€Å"that NASA discovered a meteorite they think contains life, and they’re letting people walk off with samples?† â€Å"The point,† Corky said, â€Å"is that the sample in my hands is genuine.† He held the rock close to the camera. â€Å"You could give this to any petrologist or geologist or astronomer on earth, they would run tests, and they would tell you two things: one, it is 190 million years old; and two, it is chemically dissimilar from the kind of rock we have here on earth.† Pickering leaned forward, studying the fossil embedded in the rock. He seemed momentarily transfixed. Finally, he sighed. â€Å"I am not a scientist. All I can say is that if that meteorite is genuine, which it appears it is, I would like to know why NASA didn’t present it to the world at face value? Why has someone carefully placed it under the ice as if to persuade us of its authenticity?† At that moment, inside the White House, a security officer was dialing Marjorie Tench. The senior adviser answered on the first ring. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"Ms. Tench,† the officer said, â€Å"I have the information you requested earlier. The radiophone call that Rachel Sexton placed to you earlier this evening. We have the trace.† â€Å"Tell me.† â€Å"Secret Service ops says the signal originated aboard the naval submarine U.S.S. Charlotte.† â€Å"What!† â€Å"They don’t have coordinates, ma’am, but they are certain of the vessel code.† â€Å"Oh, for Christ’s sake!† Tench slammed down the receiver without another word. 72 The muted acoustics of the Charlotte’s dead room were starting to make Rachel feel mildly nauseated. On-screen, William Pickering’s troubled gaze moved now to Michael Tolland. â€Å"You’re quiet, Mr. Tolland.† Tolland glanced up like a student who had been called on unexpectedly. â€Å"Sir?† â€Å"You just gave quite a convincing documentary on television,† Pickering said. â€Å"What’s your take on the meteorite now?† â€Å"Well, sir,† Tolland said, his discomfort obvious, â€Å"I have to agree with Dr. Marlinson. I believe the fossils and meteorite are authentic. I’m fairly well versed in dating techniques, and the age of that stone was confirmed by multiple tests. The nickel content as well. These data cannot be forged. There exists no doubt the rock, formed 190 million years ago, exhibits nonterrestrial nickel ratios and contains dozens of confirmed fossils whose formation is also dated at 190 million years. I can think of no other possible explanation than that NASA has found an authentic meteorite.† Pickering fell silent now. His expression was one of quandary, a look Rachel had never before seen on William Pickering. â€Å"What should we do, sir?† Rachel asked. â€Å"Obviously we need to alert the President there are problems with the data.† Pickering frowned. â€Å"Let’s hope the President doesn’t already know.† Rachel felt a knot rise in her throat. Pickering’s implication was clear. President Herney could be involved. Rachel strongly doubted it, and yet both the President and NASA had plenty to gain here. â€Å"Unfortunately,† Pickering said, â€Å"with the exception of this GPR printout revealing an insertion shaft, all of the scientific data points to a credible NASA discovery.† He paused, dire. â€Å"And this issue of your being attacked†¦ † He looked up at Rachel. â€Å"You mentioned special ops.† â€Å"Yes, sir.† She told him again about the Improvised Munitions and tactics. Pickering looked more and more unhappy by the moment. Rachel sensed her boss was contemplating the number of people who might have access to a small military kill force. Certainly the President had access. Probably Marjorie Tench too, as senior adviser. Quite possibly NASA administrator Lawrence Ekstrom with his ties to the Pentagon. Unfortunately, as Rachel considered the myriad of possibilities, she realized the controlling force behind the attack could have been almost anyone with high-level political clout and the right connections. â€Å"I could phone the President right now,† Pickering said, â€Å"but I don’t think that’s wise, at least until we know who’s involved. My ability to protect you becomes limited once we involve the White House. In addition, I’m not sure what I would tell him. If the meteorite is real, which you all feel it is, then your allegation of an insertion shaft and attack doesn’t make sense; the President would have every right to question the validity of my claim.† He paused as if calculating the options. â€Å"Regardless†¦ whatever the truth is or who the players are, some very powerful people will take hits if this information goes public. I suggest we get you to safety right away, before we start rocking any boats.† Get us to safety? The comment surprised Rachel. â€Å"I think we’re fairly safe on a nuclear submarine, sir.† Pickering looked skeptical. â€Å"Your presence on that submarine won’t stay secret long. I’m pulling you out immediately. Frankly, I’ll feel better when the three of you are sitting in my office.† 73 Senator Sexton huddled alone on his couch feeling like a refugee. His Westbrooke Place apartment that had only an hour ago been filled with new friends and supporters now looked forsaken, scattered with the rubble of snifters and business cards, abandoned by men who had quite literally dashed out the door. Now Sexton crouched in solitude before his television, wanting more than anything to turn it off and yet being unable to pull himself from the endless media analyses. This was Washington, and it didn’t take long for the analysts to rush through their pseudoscientific and philosophical hyperbole and lock in on the ugly stuff-the politics. Like torture masters rubbing acid in Sexton’s wounds, the newscasters were stating and restating the obvious. â€Å"Hours ago, Sexton’s campaign was soaring,† one analyst said. â€Å"Now, with NASA’s discovery, the senator’s campaign has crashed back to earth.† Sexton winced, reaching for the Courvoisier and taking a hit right out of the bottle. Tonight, he knew, would be the longest and loneliest night of his life. He despised Marjorie Tench for setting him up. He despised Gabrielle Ashe for ever mentioning NASA in the first place. He despised the President for being so goddamned lucky. And he despised the world for laughing at him. How to cite Deception Point Page 62, Essay examples