Black Friday ‘chaos’ leaves many questioning if discounts are worth it

AMMAN — Mayhem, shoplifting, traffic jams and even violence were caused by the hundreds of shoppers visiting malls and local stores for discounts of up to 90 per cent on Black Friday.

Black Friday is regarded as the first day of the Christmas shopping season, for which retailers make special offers and discounts.

Sameer Elayan, a shop owner told The Jordan Times on Saturday: “Years ago, we did not even know what Black Friday was, but we thought we would give it a try this year. After what happened however, I came to the conclusion that the sales are just not worth the chaos.”

Elayan noted that his shop was left in “utter chaos” by the end of the day as “shoppers tried on items and then threw them on the floor, left food and drinks behind in the dressing rooms and went in and out of the store with dirty shoes from the rain”.

Firas Mohtaseb, who owns multiple stores in Amman, said that “by the end of the day we discovered that two mirrors in the dressing rooms were broken and many clothes hangers were missing. It is going to cost me more than what I made to fix and replace everything”.

Several stores also reported that shoplifting was rampant. A worker in the Daraghmeh retail chain, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that his store manager spotted several acts of shoplifting when he reviewed the security tapes late on Friday.

“It was so disorderly, and each worker was inundated with inquiries and complaints that it was impossible for us to keep an eye out for shoplifters,” the source added.

Eman Nasir, an employee at City Mall, said she saw someone shoplift a scarf and some jewelry when she was working the register, but by the time she checked out a customer and ran after the perpetrator “the person was lost in the crowd”.

Some shoppers complained of heavy traffic and a lack of parking spaces during the day, and some “gave up” on the idea of shopping at malls, turning instead to online shopping.

Nada Musameh, a university student, said: “I went around the Taj Mall parking lot three times. I eventually gave up, went home and ordered what I wanted from the brands’ websites. I thought that if it took me an hour to look for a parking space, it would take me much more to get my shopping done.”

A video circulating on social media also showed a verbal altercation between motorists, which ended in a woman ramming into a car’s bumper because the road in front of her was blocked.

The Central Traffic Department stated on Saturday that the woman was arrested and referred to court.