Will You Go Out WIth Me?

 
Outdoor lifestyle retailer and co-op REI is once again closing its 149 stores on Black Friday for the return of its celebrated "#OptOutside" program.  Last year, REI made marketing history when it decided to suspend its retail activity, including online sales, on the most popular shopping day of the year while continuing to pay its more than 12,000 employees so they can have a day to enjoy the outdoors.

For 2016, more than 275 national and local organizations, including a handful of brands, have officially teamed with REI to back the "Opt Outside" movement.  "We really want people thinking about the Friday after Thanksgiving differently," said REI Chief Creative Officer Ben Steele.  Last year saw 1.4 million people participate and according to their website nearly 1.9 million people have already chosen to #OptOutside on Black Friday.

I wrote about this last year and I still love the idea!  I'm not a Black Friday shopper and I definitely love the outdoors!  And if you're single, here's your pick up line for the month of November!  Go to REI's website and create your own "Will You Go Out With Me?" photo to share!

Our plan for this year is to go to beautiful Yosemite on Black Friday.  The forecast is a little sketchy - yesterday it showed snow, but that changed, so we're hopeful.  Even if we can't make it to Yosemite we will have our bikes with us (we plan to ride on Thursday before our meal) so we can ride at lower elevation if necessary.

What about you?  Will you #OptOutside?  #ShopTilYouDrop?  or a little of each?

REI to Close on Black Friday

I read a really interesting article on USA Today - "Outdoor gear and sporting goods retailer REI is canceling Black Friday this year. No promotions, no hourly sales, no doorbusters, no waiting in line. In an unprecedented move for the modern-day holiday shopping season, REI's 143 stores will be closed the day after Thanksgiving. The co-op business plans to launch a campaign Tuesday encouraging people to forgo shopping to spend time outside instead. With the hashtag #OptOutside, REI will ask people to share what they're doing on Black Friday on social media."

I love this!  I have never done the Black Friday thing.  I think I got up once, before I was married, and was at a store at 6:00 a.m., which was really early back then!  I was looking for one item.  I bought it and went back home.

We've spent several black Fridays traveling, but we have also opted outside quite a bit.  We were at Yosemite in 2009:

We did some cycling on the Pacific Coast Highway in 2010:

We rented bikes in Mexico Beach, Florida in 2011:

We were back at Yosemite in 2012:

We were back in Mexico Beach in 2013 and I did some running while Les went cycling:

Last year we stayed home and I don't have a single picture, but my training log shows that I ran 4 miles then rode 8.6 miles!

Will you #OptOutside, go shopping on Black Friday, or a little of both?