Known as the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States, Black Friday has been a beloved holiday tradition for decades. With deals at every store and lines wrapping around the blocks, Black Friday is commonly thought of as chaotic and booming; however, in recent years, its novelty and numbers have been declining.
Taking place on the Friday after Thanksgiving each year, Black Friday traditionally marks the start of the Christmas shopping season. Stores open their doors early and close later; they put up bright signs and big advertisements, drawing thousands of people in and raking high profits.
This has been the Black Friday people are used to since the 1950s, when the U.S. first coined the term. However, things have slowly been changing.
Black Friday made a record-breaking $10.8 billion online this year, exceeding e-commerce expectations and doubling what online consumers spent in 2017.
In-person purchases, on the other hand, were down 8.2% compared to last year. The obvious cause of the decline is the rise in online shopping. Its convenience and availability allow consumers to buy exactly what they want without having to leave their home.
This isn’t the only factor at play, though. Rises in early shopping and extended promotions have caused the novelty of Black Friday itself to slowly waiver. Many stores have begun to start their holiday deals as early as October, effectively extending the holiday shopping season and eliminating the need for the one-day chaos.
According to Joe Shasteen, Global Head of Advanced Shopping Analytics at RetailNext, “This extended shopping period has ultimately decreased the singular importance of Black Friday.”
While Black Friday sales have overall continued to increase each year, the traditional holiday event has changed drastically. It is no longer a singular day of in-person shopping and chaos; now, it is more of an online shopping experience that can take place through all of November and December.