You wake up early in the morning the day after Thanksgiving, stomach full, and you’re ready to get everything you want. You enter the store, but instead of seeing deals and a room full of people, you see a vacant, messy store, filled with overpriced goods. Black Friday is not the same as it used to be.

For most people, Black Friday is more than just a sales event. It’s a tradition that used to be prevalent in society.  It is not just about saving a few dollars, but about creating memories with the people we find the most important to us. Whether you were with your family driving all around town with a trunk full of items or you finally had time alone in time to buy things for the holiday season, everyone’s Black Friday looks different, but it is still a time of every year we eagerly wait to come.  

Ever since the pandemic hit, shopping in-person Black Friday has been at an all-time low. The excitement of racing to the store, searching, and scanning for what to add to the cart is no longer prevalent as everyone is clicking and swiping on their personal devices. Black Friday used to be a social event, but now it is an event that involves a screen.

Similarly, over the past decade, retail stores have decreased their in-person sales during Black Friday due to shoppers shifting to going online to purchase clothes. This special day full of the best sales of the year has slowly turned into window shopping as now people are only going to the stores to find, try on, and go home to click ‘buy now.’ The tradition of camping out all night imagining what you’re going to buy, or waking up early in the morning just in time for stores to open has diminished. “[My mom and I] would get up on Friday morning and we would usually go to the Leesburg outlets,” English teacher Shelby Whittington said. “That’s, like, what we did [every year].” As traditions are fading, this fun in-person shopping day has slowly shifted online with customers buying most of their items in time for the holidays.

 In fact, Black Friday has been overshadowed by the online shopping community. Companies like Amazon, TikTok Shop, Shein, and stores like Target, American Eagle, and Hollister have delivery options. Shoppers have found online shopping easier and stress-free than the Black Friday brawls. Retail stores tend to have fewer sales in person now and shoppers have shifted away from going in-store to purchase clothes on Black Friday.  

Although Black Friday hasn’t been the most popular over the past decade, it’s still a very important day of the year. Most stores/brands are able to mark down most of their items on sale, and shoppers were able to get clothing items for the holiday season. People look forward to Black Friday so that they can save money on items for their loved ones. Looking through the clothing racks and aisles not knowing what to pick out adds to the excitement. Looking in other people’s carts to get an idea of what to ask your parents is what makes Black Friday all the more special. “Everyone is out there, stores are open for extra hours; it’s busy and just very special,” junior Sarah Anwer said. 

Admittedly, the timing of Black Friday has always been flawed. Retail workers have to prepare for the big cash-grabbing occasion and also spend time to thank their family and friends. Companies open their stores earlier in the morning and have to prepare the night of Thanksgiving itself. For some workers, this choice is a real dilemma, especially in the economy we live in right now. Their decision is either to pay rent or spend time with family.  However, while the preparation of Black Friday is a downside, these retail workers are doing this for their families as much as we do it for ours. Them making these decisions allows for their family to enjoy their holiday season and can make room for new traditions.

Black Friday has become more unorganized, drifting shoppers away from spending their Black Friday at crowded shopping malls and instead shopping online. “The malls can get very hectic and overstimulating,” junior Bilya Salim said. This overwhelming environment diminishes the excitement of Black Friday, but also takes into account the safety and people’s personal comfort. Still,  Black Friday should be a big event as in the midst of all this chaos we get the best deals, and get to spend this time with our loved ones. Unlike Cyber Monday, which takes time away from families as shopping online is more of an individual activity.

In the end, Black Friday isn’t just a day for shopping. We need Black Friday to make a comeback so families can get their traditions back, and we can officially mark the start of the holiday season.