We're in a battle for market share. In America we have three times the amount of square foot per person than any other country. Three times more than England, three times more than Japan, three times more than Canada. We are dramatically over-stored and that's why we're going to close tens of thousands more stores... Everyone sells the same thing. Guess what? The only difference is price. Of course! If the only difference is price, where do you go? The price goes down. The is not rocket science. So retailers in a very tough space.
I'm surprised Black Friday only dates to 2003. It feels like that plague has been on us for longer than I can remember. I can only feel schadenfreude for the death of this event and even the eventual death of big box stores generally.