Since the start of the Black Friday tradition in 1951, not only avid shoppers but other less enthusiastic people have packed the malls on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Every year, they flood the malls and stores, looking for the best deals on things they have always wanted, but couldn’t get because of the expense.
Black Friday is not only for the spirit of Thanksgiving, but also a convenient event for holiday shopping, as decorations, trees, and presents can be easily and inexpensively bought by all. While the internet and Cyber Monday have grown more popular every year, Black Friday is a stronger tradition, so which do people in this community prefer?
More people participated in Black Friday in general, even online, showing the growth of the internet despite Cyber Monday being an online event. This year, according to Exploding Topics, around 76 million people in-store and 90 million online participated in Black Friday shopping while around 21 million in-store and 73 million online participated during Cyber Monday.
Senior Charlie Balian said he likes both, but considers Cyber Monday more convenient for him and his family. He said his two triplet brothers are easier to shop for when it is online. “I think Cyber Monday is more special to me, especially because I am a triplet and my parents and my brothers all have to get gifts for each other. Cyber Monday is definitely a great way to save on items,” Balian said.
Despite this, Black Friday has more history and tradition, and also offers the chance to try clothes on, as well as the possibility of finding new or more items that wouldn’t be online. Senior Ashi Stanislaus said she enjoys Black Friday more because of in person-shopping and sizing up options and styles. “Cyber Monday is mostly online but for Black Friday, you can go in-person and try things on. Black Friday was really helpful because it helped me and my family buy gifts for our other family members for Christmas because everything was on sale,” Stanislaus said.
With Christmas coming up, Black Friday deals are irresistible to the average shopper. Although, even after Black Friday, they might forget something that they wanted, which could still be on sale during Cyber Monday. Junior Shreyas Ganeshan used Cyber Monday to get Christmas presents that he forgot to get on Friday. “It was nice to get Christmas shopping done early, but I hate the feeling of forgetting to buy certain things especially when the deal ended. But, because of Cyber Monday, these deals continue and I was able to buy the present that I forgot,” Ganeshan said.
Despite all the deals that people are thirsting over, some people are ditching Cyber Week. According to Drive Research, 16% respondents said they said no to Cyber Week this year: 54% said it was due to large crowds while others don’t like the sales provided or products that are on sale. The two top options this year are Amazon and Walmart, as they provide deals and are also readily available to everyone.
