Pushing and shoving for a Black Friday deal? That's only natural, study suggests

Black Friday shopper filmed using belt as whip Adidas cancelled the release of a rare shoe when the crowd got unruly, and one would-be shopper was arrested.

If you’re one of the brave souls willing to venture into the big crowds and busy malls on Black Friday, expect some long lines and a lot of chaos. It’s been well documented that, in the past, Black Friday has resulted in physical and verbal altercations between consumers vying to get their hands on that big screen TV or that heavily discounted purse.

There have even been reports over the years of deaths and injuries that are related to consumer aggression, but that’s mostly in the United States. Here at home in Canada, things are usually more calm.

Still, according to new research in the Journal of Consumer Research, the aggressive behaviour that comes with Black Friday is not only natural, it’s created by advertisers long before a consumer even enters a store.

“When an ad promotes a limited quantity of TVs or iPhones at an amazing sale price, consumers start seeing other consumers as a potential threat to their ability to buy that product. This threat then provides a base response that can turn into aggression," co-author of the study Darren Dahl, a professor at the UBC Sauder School of Business, said in a statement.

What’s even more surprising, Dahl said, is that his research found that people behaved just as aggressively for superficial products like televisions and telephones as they did for necessities like food and water.

“Ultimately, this reaction taps into something primal in human beings -- participants in our study literally experienced a physiological change that prepared the body to aggress when they were exposed to these types of ads,” he said. “So, in order to eliminate the perceived threat they felt from other consumers, participants responded with aggression.”

Dahl said it’s up to marketers to tone down their advertisements and to understand these kinds of ads can lead to dangerous situations.

“So, that means developing protocols for lineups, ensuring adequate staffing levels, and most importantly, managing the scarcity of the product.”

He added retailers should also emphasize violent behaviour will not be tolerated in their stores because consumers will conform to the rules.

“Our research found that this reaction to product scarcity can be bypassed when consumers realize that certain retail environments won’t accept violent or aggressive behavior,” he said. “So what may be OK in a discount store wouldn’t be condoned at Nordstrom.”