Bearaby Encouraged Shoppers to “Stop Before you Shop” This Black Friday in the Hopes of Inspiring Rest and Relaxation

Ever since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday season. But with the bustle comes added anxiety, stress, and overwhelm.

For over two years, Bearaby has been researching the impact that Black Friday has on our mental health. That’s why this Black Friday, we doubled down on our mission to create a calmer, more comforting world by closing our doors and swapping shopping for some well-deserved rest and calm.

Take the Weight Off

At our pop-up location in the heart of New York City’s West Village, we presented a subtle invitation in the form of a cozy, blanketed bench, inviting folks to stop and sit a moment during the busiest shopping day of the year. While other stores calculated sales, we closed our doors and collected rest through a sensory restometer that measured the amount of time people spent pausing on our bench. Amongst the waves of crowds, we placed a violinist nearby to further inspire shoppers to drop their bags, close their eyes, and take the weight off.

Stop Before You Shop

To further highlight the importance of mindfulness over Black Friday weekend, we extended the experience to Bearaby.com, encouraging a “stop before you shop” mentality. Visitors found our homepage blacked out, with a live meter that measured rest across the country.

We encouraged visitors to take a break from the dizzying madness of Black Friday sales with interactive eye exercise that provided a soothing moment of calm on an otherwise chaotic day.

The Season of Giving

After Black Friday, we collected exactly 187 hours, 42 minutes and 49 seconds of rest from over 11,000 people and donated to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, in order to support their helpline during one of the most stressful days of the year.

At Bearaby, we firmly believe that when you take care of yourself, you can take better care of others, and we’re grateful to have been able to extend the campaign further and shine a light on the importance of our collective mental well-being.