Was the Black Friday explosion in Bermuda a flip or a flop? Hundreds of people came to Hamilton during Friday November 25, when Bermuda had its second “Black Friday”.Most would agree that shopping in the US or the UK is nicer than in Bermuda as products are less expensive, there is much more variety and brands are more popular. Most of the students in Bermuda enjoy going to “Town”, but they hardly buy more than one or two items. However, in the US people tend to buy many more items.Bermuda seems to have been doing a lot of things to get people to buy in Bermuda, like, Bermuda’s Fashion Night Out on November 3rd and 4th, raising the duty on items when you bring them back to Bermuda, and now Black Friday. To increase profits a shopper at the Black Friday event observed what the retailers did: “They opened early, stayed open late, offered sales (some up to 60% off), and incentives to come into the stores (free things, special draws).”Has it really made a difference in the economy? Yes it has, and a positive one at that. Though stores like Brown & Co. and Daisy & Mac started to get less packed at 8:30, most stores’ profits and revenues (the money they bring in) increased by a lot. Shoppers seemed to be saving a lot of money and enjoying the testing of foods and drinks.Even though many Bermudians waited from almost two o’clock in the morning to get into the deals, the students had to wait until after school to go shopping. Even though it was very crowded, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Especially people in the new “i-Click” store, a carbon-copy of Apple.I particularly enjoyed Black Friday because it reminded me of the US and my love for US malls. I felt more connected to the shopping experience because the sales people seemed to be more helpful and more connected to the shoppers.However, is Bermuda becoming too “Americanised”? With shops like Juice & Beans and now the Black Friday event, that mirror stores and events in the United States. Brooke Kerr expressed her opinion on the matter: “No, because there are more Bermudian influences than American in Bermuda.”