The Paper Machete Radio Magazine: Shannon Cason on the phenomenon of Black Thursday

The Paper Machete Radio Magazine: Shannon Cason on the phenomenon of Black Thursday
Cason at his last ‘Machete’ appearance Photo by Evan Hanover
The Paper Machete Radio Magazine: Shannon Cason on the phenomenon of Black Thursday
Cason at his last ‘Machete’ appearance Photo by Evan Hanover

The Paper Machete Radio Magazine: Shannon Cason on the phenomenon of Black Thursday

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Cason at his last 'Machete' appearance (Photo by Evan Hanover)

Shannon Cason is a real live Macy’s employee (he sells women’s shoes).

So the Former Moth GrandSLAM champion is more than equipped to give you his thoughts on Black Friday’s move to Thursday, in his Paper Machete Consumer Reports Report.

Below, the beginning of his diatribe. And as usual, if you can hear us, this magazine is LIVE.

In recent years, Black Friday has started earlier and earlier as retailers try to get a jump on the holiday shopping season and appeal to consumer demand. Last year, for instance, Macy’s opened its doors at 4 a.m.

This year,  however, retailers will mimic the international dateline and begin the day in relation to the rotation of the earth; from 12 am to 12 am, a true Black Friday.

Sales are brightening; October retail sales rose .3 percent, and holiday retail spending is expected to grow 2.3 percent, according to the National Retail Federation. NFR also forecasts a 27 percent increase in Black Friday shoppers.

To account for this increase, Target has announced that it will open its doors at midnight this year, following surveys that showed customer demand for this.

Popular stores like Macy’s, Best Buy and Kohl’s blame Target for moving up its opening time and forcing them to respond to keep up. As a result, all three retails plan to open their doors at midnight as well.  But the midnight opening doesn’t come without backlash…

This Saturday’s Paper Machete kicks off at the Horseshoe at 3 p.m., where you can expect to see Phillip Dawkins, the playwright responsible for The Homosexuals; Micah Philbrook of The Tim and Micah Project; Katie Rich of Second City; magician Dennis Watkins of the House Theatre; and a special performance by Barrel of Monkeys. Music from the Machete house band, Sleepy Lou.

The Paper Machete is a weekly live magazine at the Horseshoe in North Center. It’s always at 3 pm, it’s always on Saturday, and it’s always free. Get all your The Paper Machete Radio Magazine needs filled here, or download the podcast from iTunes here.