The Real Reason You Shop On Black Friday

Turns out, those poor souls camped out in front of Best Buy in anticipation of post-Turkey Day door-busters are seeking an adrenaline rush more than savings. Why do people go shopping on Black Friday? Turns out, they're looking A) just to try it, and B) for the "excitement." Basically, this cultural phenomenon is like Las Vegas or most theme parks: people go to see what the fuss is all about, then subsequently file away in their "never gonna do again" mental folders.

According to the DealNews 2014 Black Friday survey, 38 percent of people planning to shop in-store on the shopping holiday said they were there for the "experience/ excitement." Sure, the thrill of potentially being trampled over a moderately-discounted Kindle definitely gives you a story to re-tell over and over. But deep down, these people must realize that watching A Christmas Story on your couch and eating leftovers is way more fun.

Turns out, they do! With the increasing availability of Black Friday deals online, fewer people are flooding the malls with each passing year. Since 2013, there has been a 23 percent increase in the amount of people who plan to do turn to the web for sale-shopping. The dice-up of the online/in-store shoppers is as follows: 36 percent of deal-seekers will shop only online, 48 percent mostly online, 14 percent mostly in-store, and a staggering 1 percent will shop in-store only. 66 percent of the folks who intended to shop online cited "convenience" as their reason. AMEN for not leaving the house, amirite?

A couple of additional highlights from the survey: men tend to be more selfish shoppers( 46 percent of men were shopping for themselves, versus 21 percent of women); most people are shopping for electronics (27 percent, followed by clothing at 20 percent); nobody is shopping Apple's annual Black Friday sale (83 percent said HELL no, compared with 80 percent in 2013, and 78 percent in 2012).

Meanwhile, I'll be looking forward to my thrilling Black Friday experience: ENDLESS Thanksgiving sandwiches.

Visit our Black Friday Explore page for more on shopping's biggest day of the year.

Image: Giphy