Holiday Shopping Showdown: Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday. Now up: Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday has seemed to become as important as Black Friday in recent years, with more and more stores offering deals online for the Monday after Thanksgiving Day.

According to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, overall sales on Cyber Monday were up 17.5% from last year.

Contributing to that increase in sales was Michigan State University creative advertising junior Patricia Szczepanski.

"On Cyber Monday, I shopped online at Alex & Ani," Szczepanski said. "I also bought some tickets from Ticketmaster."

MSU engineering senior Ben Caneba said he also shopped on Cyber Monday this year, as opposed to last year when he shopped in stores on Black Friday.

"I waited in line at Target for an iPad for four hours last year," Caneba said. "I wasn't even able to get the iPad."

Caneba said it was great being able to shop online and not have to wait in line at the store after his bad experience last year.

Holiday Shopping Showdown: Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday. First up: Black Friday

Within recent years, it appears that "Black Friday" - the Friday following Thanksgiving Day - has become very much a part of American culture and the kick-off of the holiday shopping season.
According to the National Retail Foundation, 92 million people shopped on Black Friday this year, including Michigan State University finance senior Marc Chiodo.
"I normally go Black Friday shopping every year," Chiodo said. "This year my friend and I went to Micro Center, which is a computer store."
Similar to Chiodo, MSU professional writing junior Sarah Waldrop shopped on Black Friday.
"My friends and I were actually out until 4 A.M. in the morning shopping the Black Friday deals," Waldrop said.
Waldrop has also worked on Black Friday in recent years.
"I was a Victoria's Secret sales rep," Waldrop said. "It was very hectic compared to other work days, which is pretty obvious."

JRN 200: Black Friday 2013 (re-cap)

Though Black Friday may provide more hours for employees and opportunities to generate more revenue, not everyone enjoys the day.
Michigan State University student Brook Skinner said she shops on Black Friday every year with her mom, friend and friend's mom as a tradition, but would not personally go otherwise.
"I'm not aggressive enough to go early in the morning to fight people for all of the deals they have," Skinner said.
Skinner said that she does not think that Black Friday is worth shopping.
"I think it's just like, a scam to get you to buy more," Skinner said.
Whether behind or in front of the counter, each person has a different take on the unofficial shopping holiday known as Black Friday.

JRN 200: Black Friday 2013 (preview)

With the holiday season upon us, advertisements for all sorts of sales, specials and deals are blasted at consumers to hype up holiday shopping. "Black Friday," or the day after Thanksgiving, is one of the busiest shopping days of the year due to all of the crazy deals offered by retailers.

For some consumers, Black Friday is spent behind the counter.

Michigan State University student Christina Skwarek has worked at American Eagle for the past three years, making Black Friday 2013 her third Black Friday experience.

"It's kind of fun in a way," Skwarek said. "But at the same time, it's exhausting."

However, not everyone finds Black Friday to be “fun.” Look for the next post talking about a consumer experience with Black Friday.

JRN 200 Breaking news re-cap

Though Haley Kluge worked hard to stay awake throughout the night, she fell asleep around 6 a.m., leaving her director Kelsey Parkinson to finish the magazine.
Parkinson stayed up all night to finish the Fall 2013 issue.
Kluge and Parkinson will be traveling with the Editor-In-Chief of VIM Magazine, Emily Ribick, to deliver the issue to the printer.
"I'm excited to see how the magazine turns out," Kluge said. "Especially because I fell asleep. I feel bad that I left Kelsey to finish it [...] but I was just so tired."
VIM prints with Spartan Printing, Inc., who also prints Michigan State University's ING Magazine.
Look for VIM's Fall 2013 issue at their public launch on Thurs., Nov. 14 at The Rock outside of the auditorium.

JRN 200 Breaking News Preview

With the deadline quickly approaching, VIM Magazine Art Director Kelsey Parkinson and staff member Haley Kluge work deep into the night to wrap up the Fall 2013 issue.
VIM is Michigan State University's first student-run fashion magazine founded in 2010. The magazine publishes biyearly, once during the fall and spring semesters.
Kluge, an MSU freshman, joined the magazine staff this semester, working mainly with the art team.
"I really love design, and I am interested in fashion as well," Kluge said. "So this is a perfect fit for me."
Kluge said she works very closely with Parkinson, for they also work together at the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association.
"Kelsey is awesome, so I really don't mind the late hours," she said.

More information to come regarding the completion of VIM's Fall 2013 issue.