Friday, November 25 marked the start of the year’s biggest shopping holiday, an occasion which has now stretched into a 4-day shopping frenzy. With the addition of days like “Small Business Saturday,” and “Cyber Monday,” many retailers offered discounts well into the beginning of this week.
Online shopping reached new records, with consumers spending a total of $1.2 billion from their phones and tablets and $3.34 billion overall (Forbes 2016). In fact, this year about 10 million more American consumers shopped online for Black Friday deals.
“I love bargain shopping in general. I love finding good deals or sales, using coupons, thrift store hunting, stuff like that. Finding ways to save money has almost become a fun hobby, so Black Friday is the perfect occasion to go all out,” Sophomore Lucy Nelson said.
With the rise in personal technology usage combined with the convenience of online shopping, it is no wonder more consumers are shopping online.
“It’s just easier, honestly. It’s hard to justify waking up at 2:00 a.m. and standing in line for two hours to buy something that I could just as easily buy online,” Senior Alex Nelson said.
Though this year’s Black Friday weekend was unseasonably warm, the lowest record temperature during the Thanksgiving season was 60 degrees below, leaving weather an unpredictable factor in the shopping festivities.
“It’s just easier, honestly. It’s hard to justify waking up at 2:00 a.m. and standing in line for two hours to buy something that I could just as easily buy online.” – Alex Nelson ‘17
“You know, it’s funny, having grown up in California, I never had to consider the cold as a factor in Black Friday shopping. Now that I’ve moved to Minnesota, it’s way too cold for me to ever brave the outdoors,” Senior Eli Sciammas said.
Aside from weather, the chaos is a reason many people have opted to shop online.
“You hear all these horror stories about people being stabbed and trampled, and of course, you think that will never happen at my store, but it certainly doesn’t make me want to get up early and brave the crowd if I have another option,” Lucy Nelson said.
Danger aside, sheer chaos alone is a deterrent for many.
“It’s just annoying now. Maybe it’s because I’m older now, but I just get so irritated, sweaty, and frustrated. It feels like you have to dig and dig through mounds of clothes or electronics or whatever, all while surrounded by 300 other people,” Sciammas said.
Many others have mirrored this general distaste for the craze found in so many stores on Black Friday.
“It honestly takes the fun out of shopping – getting kneed in the back, standing in one line for 45 minutes, pushing through the hoards of people,” Alex Nelson said.
Practicality also factors into shopping methods.
“Quite a few people say that stores offer far better deals in store, but now that Cyber Monday has become the event that it has, that concern hardly seems to be true anymore,” Sciammas said.
This online shift can be attributed to many different factors.
“I think a lot of the shift to online shopping happened after Amazon came into play. They really dominated ecommerce business and forced other retailers to up their online game.” – Lucy Nelson ‘17
“It’s pretty obvious, but since the rise in mobile phone use, online activity in general has shot up. You can do virtually everything from your mobile device today, so it almost seems stupid not to take advantage of that convenience,” Lucy Nelson said.
Industry competition is also a relevant influencer.
“Instead of standing in line with 200 people waiting to grab that discounted TV, you’re sitting in front of your screen while 600 other people sit in front of theirs, all waiting to push ‘Buy’.” – Eli Sciammas ‘17
“I think a lot of the shift to online shopping happened after Amazon came into play. They really dominated ecommerce business and forced other retailers to up their online game,” Alex Nelson said.
Some speculate that an overall shift in cultural priorities has influenced this slide to online shopping.
“It’s a cliche, but everyone is always too busy now. Society is known for going too fast, being too busy, and always in a rush. I think that, coupled with a rise in technology, leads consumers to believe they just don’t have the time. No one wants to waste their time,” Sciammas said.
Whatever the reason may be, online shopping has entirely changed the way retailers are doing business now and in the future.
“Instead of standing in line with 200 people waiting to grab that discounted TV, you’re sitting in front of your screen while 600 other people sit in front of theirs, all waiting to push ‘Buy.’ Black Friday has completely changed, and that’s okay,” Sciammas said.
Now that online shopping has exceeded store shopping, it will be interesting to see what stores change their marketing efforts and overall business plans in order to accomodate to consumers’ preferances and demands.