A few years ago, a sharply discounted price on a big screen TV was enough to get customers lined up in the cold during the wee hours of Black Friday.
This year, it seems the shopping event is less about discounts and more about what gifts retailers offer to their most devoted shoppers.
Target, in particular, drew thousands of shoppers to select stores as early as 3 a.m. on Friday, with promises of a complimentary gift bag for the first ones through the door at 6 a.m.
However, some social media users were disappointed with the gift bag’s apparent lack of swag, which included items such as fun-size candy, drink mix samples, shampoo, and a deck of Uno cards.
“Y’all gonna have them wait outside in the freezing cold in some of these areas just for y’all to give them gummy clusters?” one TikTok user said in a video. “That’s diabolical, man.”
“Black Friday is cooked,” he added. “Better luck next year.”
The company said that all of its gift bags were claimed by the 6 a.m. opening, with some locations having as many as 500 people in line.
Some Target shoppers fared better than the videos suggested, however. The company said in a release that 10 shoppers per participating store received bags with extra prizes ranging in value from $99 to $350.
Some of the bonus gifts included items such as a Target gift card, a Laifen hairdryer, a Ninja slushie machine, or Beats headphones.
Target has been eager to get shoppers back into its stores as it seeks to boost sales and profitability, including by hosting a recent special release for pop icon Taylor Swift’s latest album and a festive “whimsical Alpine world” holiday setup.
Incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke has also made improving the shopping experience one of his top priorities.
Still, as social media users dragged the bullseye retailer’s swag bag selection, they heaped praise on home improvement retailer Lowe’s, which doled out five-gallon buckets filled with building supplies to early-bird shoppers.
In addition to freebies like drill bit sets and a bucket-shaped coffee mug, some golden ticket winners even showed coupons redeemable for a free appliance worth up to $2,000.
“This makes Target’s bag look like party favors from a kids birthday,” one commenter said on a video of the Lowe’s haul.
Another TikToker said the reason Lowe’s managed to beat the competition with this year’s giveaway is that it made millennials “feel like kids on Christmas again.”
“In those first 50 buckets, there was a magic in the air that I haven’t felt at Christmas or Black Friday in a very long time,” he said.
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