The good news is that holiday sales are up, consumer confidence appears to be on the rise and we can expect a nice economic boost this December. The bad news is that we have completely lost our manners in the process. Apparently pepper spray is the new normal.
God bless Cyber Monday. If all holiday shopping looked like Black Friday, we would have martial law by now. Instead, plenty of people stayed home and took care of Christmas shopping not only online but on their cell phones. Mobile sales were up 6.6 percent this year to 10.8 percent of Cyber Monday sales. People completed one out of 10 transactions from their phones. Wow.
Is it just me or have we as a country been moving in divergent directions? How long will rational, efficient behavior live side-by-side with frantic, imaginary crisis? I miss the days when it was fun to go holiday shopping amid elaborate decorations at shopping centers and malls. I look forward to a time when we can stroll with families, dazzled by lights and displays. When the pendulum finds its way to the middle, as it invariably does, it will be interesting to see how these divergent mindsets come back together. I wonder what role social media will play. Online meet-ups are already very popular. We’ve all seen YouTube videos of flash-mobs. Will tweet-ups replace casual strolls? I hope so. Somehow those of us who are excited by Foursquare scores need to help the pepper-sprayers of the world to find a more constructive focus for their energy.
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