Related: Black Friday Fa$t
I hope you kids enjoyed it, even if you are subject to sanction.
"Numbers of shoppers out on Black Friday down from previous years" by Anissa Gardizy Globe Correspondent, November 27, 2020
It might as well have been any other pandemic Friday in Downtown Crossing.
Though it was Black Friday, only a handful of shoppers shuffled from store to store in the Boston retail hub, many carrying bags from retail giants Gap, Primark, and Marshalls, but unlike normal years, foot traffic was way down ― as it was across Massachusetts and around the nation.
Larger retailers have been able to withstand the drop in foot traffic, hiring seasonal help to field deliveries and in-store pickups, but the shift from in-person buying during this unusual holiday season will likely damage small businesses more, as many did not have developed online operations prior to the pandemic.
Rosemarie Sansone, the president and chief executive of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, said, “It is about survival ... this really means jobs for people, being able to put food on the table, whether people can continue paying their rent or mortgage.”
Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said only about a quarter of the trade group’s 4,000 members reported selling online last year. That figure has doubled during the pandemic, but with online shopping on track to skyrocket, he said those who still rely heavily on brick and mortar sales could be in trouble.
Elery Pfeffer, the chief executive of Nift, the Boston-based startup that matches consumers with small businesses, said there aren’t any signs the falloff in spending at brick and mortar small businesses is coming back soon.
To combat the forecasts, several organizations are going all-in to encourage small businesses spending.
One of the most well-known campaigns is Small Business Saturday, started by American Express in 2010, in part to respond to the Great Recession. Hurst said the campaign has helped to increase local holiday sales, but the outlook this season is uncertain. That’s why the retail association is launching a $150,000 ad campaign to encourage it. The effort includes promoting the hashtag #BuyInMA, a contest for consumers, and a radio ad featuring Governor Charlie Baker.
The retail group hasn’t run a paid holiday ad for a few years, and this season’s campaign is the association’s most expensive one to date.
Denise Jillson, the executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said she hopes consumers patronize local business districts this holiday season.
They “are competing with Amazon and other big box stores,” she said. “That is a challenge because if you shop at a local store, you are likely to pay more. It is very deliberate when you make that purchase.”
Daisy Noriega, 23, spent Black Friday on Charles Street. While she is an avid Amazon customer, she decided to do all her shopping on the Beacon Hill retail strip to support her community.
“My mom has a thrift shop in Chicago, so I know how much money was lost because of the pandemic,” she said. “This is the first year I am intentionally doing small business shopping.”
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The photo that led my printed copy was this:
Reminds me of the dancing health care workers in empty hospitals as the same script that is being run now is a replay of the spring as the Globe keeps us dancing to their lies.
Related: Nursing This Blog Home
Toe-tapping over there, too, in the midst of the spring ravaging?
I flip the skimpy four-page section open and find these:
"The Walt Disney Co. announced plans to lay off 4,000 more workers in its theme parks division in California and Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the industry. The announcement by the company was made in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing earlier this week, saying 32,000 employees will be terminated in the first half of fiscal year 2021, which began last month. In late September, the company had already announced plans to terminate 28,000 theme park workers. In the SEC document filed on the eve of Thanksgiving Day, the company said it also put 37,000 employees not scheduled for termination on furlough as a result of the pandemic. In Florida, the company has been limiting attendance at its parks and changing protocols to allow for social distancing by limiting characters' meet and greets. The company has not specified the number of workers that would be affected in its Orlando theme parks....."
That may not be a bad thing at all considering the content.
"Amazon.com will pay the employees who pack and deliver its goods a one-time bonus of up to $300, extra compensation that comes as the company faces a union drive and criticism from others for rolling back pandemic hazard pay. The company said on Thursday that it would pay full-time operations workers $300, and part-timers $150, if they are employed by the e-commerce giant for the entire month of December. The cost to Amazon will amount to about $500 million, logistics chief Dave Clark said in a corporate blog post. Amazon has faced criticism from some employees for trying to attract new hires with a $3,000 bonus to ensure sufficient staffing to cover the holiday rush while only offering existing workers vouchers toward Thanksgiving turkeys. Earlier this week, a union drive organized by a group of workers at an Alabama warehouse became public, a rare step at a company that has worked to fend off organized labor in its ranks. “Our teams are doing amazing work serving customers’ essential needs, while also helping to bring some much needed holiday cheer for socially-distanced families around the world,” Clark said in the blog post Thursday....."
Seems fair after they reported making 2.1 BILLION a MONTH in PROFIT!
I believe the term is chump change?
"The S&P 500 rose to a record high Friday as investors continue to look forward to the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine and relief for the global economy. Meanwhile, retailers were hoping that their slumping sales get a boost from shoppers on Black Friday but early indications are that store traffic was light....."
Everybody is taking a bath except that narrow $liver of a $ector at the top.
I can't $tomach anymore, sorry, and I will also be suspending posting for the time being due to cratered readership and for my own mental health.
I need to get as far away from the Globe as possible, sorry.
I no longer do. I find insulting and hurtful (#WLDM judging by the timing of the article) and am sick of being kicked around.
It's time to burn the bridges to the Boston Globe (I speak metaphorically, of course).
Sorry.
