Spring Break
Friday the 13th scares consumers into spending less
By: Katy Ralston
Issue date: 3/11/09 Section: News
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Paraskevidekatriaphobia, more commonly known as the superstitious fear of Friday the 13th, affects 10 percent of the American population. Sufferers refrain from spending and traveling on these "unlucky" Fridays, creating a $750 million loss in consumer spending.
"The main characteristic of a phobia is an avoidance that impairs people to do their jobs or build relationships," said Les Morey, a psychology professor and department head.
The occurrence of three Friday the 13ths in 2009 combines for a $2 billion spending decrease - on top of an already shaky economy.
Don't be fooled by appearances, said Thomas Saving, a Texas A&M economic theory professor. The economy is not actually losing $2 billion.
"People aren't going to change their overall behavior," Saving said. "What they would normally do on Friday they would instead do Thursday or Saturday. There is no economic evidence that says an entire year's economy looks different [because of the phobia]."
The market might report a $1 million loss of sales on Friday the 13th compared to the previous or following Fridays that carry no superstitious warnings. However, the phobia-suffering consumers resume spending and traveling on non-threatening days.
"If so many people are afraid of Friday the 13th, you would certainly expect it to have an effect; but it would affect the next days by the same token," Saving said.
An example would be dining out, Saving said. If a person suffering from the phobia budgets to eat out five times in a month, he or she would still eat out the same amount, just not on the unlucky Friday.
In other words, fearing Friday the 13th affects the distribution of when money is spent without changing the amount spent in the long-run, laying to rest fears of a negative effect on the economy.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday the 13th actually has favorable consequences in the stock market. According to Shaeffer's Investment Research, Fridays occurring on the 13th report an average gain of 0.19 percent, but a typical Friday nets a 0.04 percent gain.
The constant stream of Hollywood hype has amplified the ancient superstition.
Hollywood has cashed in on the old superstition, creating numerous movies, television shows, novels, comic books and merchandise.
Released last month on the 13th, "Friday the 13th" ranked first on weekend box office charts and has grossed $63 million to date.
"Personally it doesn't have any effect on me, I've heard about the superstition before I saw the movie. I think the fear of Friday the 13th is bigger than the movies because people create their own fear of what will happen on that day," said freshman general studies major Alex Plemons. "They really aren't too worried about running into a killer in a hockey mask."
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