The thrill of Black Friday has always been unmatched. Hunting for the best bargains entering the Christmas season and a huge rush of excitement when you score a great deal is a feeling like no other. However, with the rise of online shopping, Black Friday shopping has drastically shifted into something unrecognizable.
In the past, people often waited for the Black Friday ads to be released so that they could place targets on the deals that they wanted to wait in line for on Black Friday. Strategic plans were formed to ensure that Christmas gifts were bought at the best price possible.
“I remember my mom and aunt talking about how they wanted to leave the house at 3:00 a.m. to go to Madison for a flatscreen TV when I was younger,” senior Maggie Vander Schaaf states. “My mom always told me to wait until I was older whenever I wanted to go, but nowadays, Black Friday is just not the same.”
With the popularity of online shopping’s convenience, people are opting to purchase their items online rather than in-store. Why wait out in the cold in the early hours of the morning when you can get the same bargains from the comfort of your own home?
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had a large effect on the reliance on online shopping for Black Friday as well. Despite being confined to their homes, people still wanted to experience the deals of Black Friday shopping.
An article from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics explains that stores had to use the Internet as a means to reach customers. However, this created a new trend of online shopping during Black Friday and changed the timeframe for which deals remained active.
According to Amazon.com, their 2024 Black Friday deals began a week before the actual day on Nov. 21. Because Amazon starts its Black Friday deals the week before, people are able to shop and take advantage of deals before in-person stores have the chance to connect to customers.
This problem has changed the trajectory of Black Friday shopping in general. In order for in-person stores to compete with online shops, they are forced to release their deals earlier and earlier each year.
According to both Walmart.com and Target.com, they both have Black Friday deals out in their stores that you can purchase right now. The competition for customers has transformed Black Friday into a week of deals, rather than the tradition of deals only on the day itself.
Black Friday shopping has the power to positively affect small businesses as well. Because there is an influx of people who have traditionally been out shopping on Black Friday, this has
given small businesses an opportunity to form new relationships and gain new customers. However, now that online shopping has emerged as a large competitor, small businesses aren’t able to have the same amount of positive impacts.
Black Friday has always held a sense of nostalgia. People always seem to have some memory surrounding the holiday, whether it’s themselves or somebody they know. Unfortunately, with the transition from Black Friday to essentially a Black Friday week of deals, the magic just isn’t the same.
There are bound to be a variety of impacts while navigating this new era of Black Friday shopping. The transition from doorbuster deals that only lasted a day to the dominance of online shopping can allow flexibility and relaxation during the holidays. However, some will continue to relish in the thrilling memories of in-person Black Friday shopping.
Regardless of how people shop on Black Friday, it’s a time filled with the capacity for memories. Although Black Friday has transformed into something different, the day still exists in some form where new traditions can be made.
