It will soon be Black Friday in the US – That day after Thanksgiving when a big chunk of the population goes out en masse to buy shit they don’t really need, for not a whole lot less than any other day.

If you really feel you need a good deal, go online and skip the store. Most brick-and-mortar stores have equivalent online sales – and usually even better. My two favorites are Dealnews.com and bfads.com check them out. Dealnews is actually my year-round favorite. There’s also always overstock.com where I got some wicked deals on some English Laundry shirts.

With this kind of access to offers and zero crowds I don’t know why anyone reading this blog would go to a physical retailer. Any clues?

Update 11-30-09: Interesting data from the National Retail Federation mentioning that “more people spent less” – 195 Million shoppers this year, versus 172 million shoppers last year, with average spend per person down from $372 last year to $343 this year. What this translates to me as a consumer is: There’s no way in hell I’m going to partake in the Black Friday melee. Take a look at their report for a more complete break-down of the numbers “Black Friday Verdict: As Expected, Number of Shoppers Up, Average Spending Down“.