It's Black Friday and shoppers are out in their millions looking for a snip.
But consumer watchdog Which? says only one in 20 of our purchases is a genuine bargain. And they warn against “impulse buying”.
This cheerless Yuletide message risks taking all the fun out of retail therapy. Why splash out on something you fancy, if it’s a fake discount or – worse still – indulge a rash desire to buy something you can’t really afford?
Well, look at the cheered-up faces of the people lugging fancy bags on public transport and you’ll see why. You don’t have to “Spend! Spend! Spend!” like pools legend Viv Nicholson to get a modest retail rush.
Yes, yes, I know all about the phoney origins of Black Friday. It’s yet another American money-making import, designed to get customers into shops the day after Thanksgiving when they have their turkey. It works over there, and anxious store owners pin their hopes on a pre-Christmas spree over here, especially on our hard-hit high streets.
So get them tills ringing!
But I’m also mindful of the real Black Fridays, like the deadly car bombing of Dublin and Monaghan in May 1974, when 33 people, including a full-term unborn child,
were murdered by the Ulster Volunteer Force.
Nobody has ever been charged with that atrocity, and the British government has never disclosed whether MI5 played a role – as has long been suspected.
And many other tragedies have earned the unhappy title Black Friday, so let’s mix a little harsh reality into the shopping euphoria.
Cross your fingers that Friday 13 December, doesn’t join the catalogue of Black Friday misery – with Boris Johnson flaunting himself on the steps of No10.
