A few weeks ago, we asked our readers if there were any stores that they wouldn't buy from this Black Friday based on their experiences in 2011.
About 32% said they wouldn't shop at Best Buy, likely because the electronics chain cancelled a slew of orders just days before Christmas. We expected this sort of response.
What we didn't expect, however, was that an additional 32% of our readers said that they wouldn't shop at Macy's this year. (Target and Amazon, for comparison, only garnered 13% and 10%, respectively.) Since we were unaware of a similar 2011 public disaster involving Macy's, we wondered out loud why such a high percentage of anti-patronage.
A helpful commenter pointed us towards a petition that's circulating about Donald Trump's involvement with Macy's. According to Businessweek, 500,000 people have signed it, asking for the retailer to cease selling Trump-branded products after the high-profile real estate developer repeatedly slammed Barack Obama on Twitter, following the President's reelection. (The publication also, hilariously, points out that as of yesterday, "$650 Trump suits were on sale for $249.99 and $69.50 dress shirts for $46.99.") Those who are offended or disturbed by Trump's comments might be put off by the relationship Macy's has with him.
However, our poll was conducted in October, long before this specific Trump tirade. Presumably, the shoppers who voted "no" to Macy's weren't swayed by his association; they just had bad experiences with Macy's on Black Friday, for whatever reason. That means that the current controversy has potentially stirred up an entirely new segment of shoppers who are displeased with the retailer, just a week before its most important shopping event of the year.
Given the preexisting hesitation and this new-found public spat, we think it's worth wondering aloud once again: Are you hesitant to shop at Macy's on Black Friday or otherwise? Are its deals too good to pass up, or will you take your business elsewhere? Do you even care about the store's association with Donald Trump? Sound off in the comments below.