American consumers are projected to spend record amounts during the 2023 holiday season, so why didn’t we see packed stores and families fighting over TVs on Black Friday? Two words: online shopping. 

Since 2005, big retailers have encouraged online shopping through “Cyber Monday” sales following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. However, it wasn’t until the 2020 quarantine that Black Friday lost its historical reputation of mayhem and long lines. COVID-19 retail policies limited in-person capacity, causing Americans to transition to online shopping. Although spending trends have returned to pre-pandemic numbers, we haven’t given up convenient online shopping. Many TikTok users attribute the shift in Black Friday culture to mediocre deals. One viral TikTok video by Dejay Downey (@djdowneygirl) shows Target’s Black Friday deal price labels matching regular sale prices.

Many students here at Paschal favor online shopping over in-person shopping because of its ease and simplicity. When mentioning purchasing her new phone case, Paschal junior Kaitlyn Braswell said, “Online shopping is so much better for Black Friday because you can get the same deals without having to go out.” Braswell isn’t alone; online splurging during Black Friday rose almost 8% to approximately 10 billion dollars!