Black Friday is known for the mayhem and disorder it brings on the day after Thanksgiving. The term “Black Friday” actually came from Philadelphia’s Police around the 1950’s, because of the chaos that occurred on that day. Shopping centers, malls and stores would be overflowing with crazy customers fighting to find the best deals and come home with the ultimate gifts for the holidays on Black Friday.
This year’s Black Friday looked a little bit different than any other usual year. Because of the limited capacity in stores and the concern for people’s safety, 2020’s Black Friday occurred both in person and online. Many people took advantage of the opportunity to get the same deals as they would in the store, but from the comfort and safety of their own homes. According to NBC, Adobe Analytics found that about $9 billion was spent from online shoppers on Black Friday and curbside pick up increased by 52%.
The Black Friday transformation of 2020 affected Masuk students’ traditions like senior Kayla Scott’s.
“My sister and I usually go to the Danbury mall and shop, but this year we decided to stay home and shop online to avoid coming in contact with large groups of people,” Scott said.
It is understandable that many people shopped from home this year to limit their contact with other people, especially in larger groups.
Although a lot of people were hesitant to shop in person, others like senior Brenna Chopskie took on the challenge, while still being safe.
“It was very weird because it was pretty dead and there were not a lot of people at all. The maximum amount of time I had to wait in line was about five minutes, and there were barely even any lines,” Chopskie said.
Stores were sure to be safe and follow the guidelines for dealing with Covid-19 while keeping their customers socially distant from one another and restricting the amount of people in each store and in dressing rooms.
“You couldn’t try things on in most stores. Overall it was just different and a lot less busy than a normal Black Friday” Chopskie added.
One can only wonder how next year’s Black Friday will look. The question, interestingly enough, is which is better: shopping in person with great deals or shopping online with great deals?
Masuk Free Press 