Are you shopping on Black Friday?

BLACK Friday has landed and is taking the high street and the web by storm. About 137 million people are considering doing their holiday shopping online or in the malls during Thanksgiving weekend, according to the National Retail Federation. Many major retailers kicked off their cyber sales early this year, ramping up for the big day. “So, I think there’s a gradual change from brick and mortar stores to shopping online”. However, it is important to remember that British consumers have been binging on a diet of discounts for some time, so this movement can’t purely be attributed to Black Friday.

For many shoppers, finding freebies on Black Friday feels like being a kid again and realizing that Christmas and birthdays are a time when you get what you want without having to save up your allowance or earn money doing something like baby-sitting your baby brother.

Like many stores, Old Navy got things going starting 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Christmas is the busiest time for retailers and year on year customers will begin their Christmas shopping earlier. Malloy said she hadn’t yet shopped online but usually does so. If you’re agonising over gifts for young adults this year (maybe a brother or a sister), perhaps look towards places like Humdinger Days – places that will allow these people to enjoy an experience over a material item.

On Thursday, discount store Kmart opened its doors at 6 a.m., with other stores – including JCPenney, Best Buy and Target – open throughout the day. “And if I don’t get anything here, online shopping’s the best”, said another shopper.

If you just can’t bear the thought of pounding the pavement and fighting the crowds for deals, stay in, grab a cup of coffee, and check out the online deals.

Millions of people in the USA left their family members on Thanksgiving Day to visit shopping centers and malls often armed with smartphones to check out prices and buy products that were drastically reduced in price. Stores like Macy’s, Walmart, Target and more were open Thursday evening in what they hope will be a new holiday tradition. For Pattie Starner of Easton, it was to buy a 55-inch Samsung TV at Best Buy in the Southmont Shopping Center. While supplies might be tight on particular models, these deals could provide the flawless gift if you find yourself coming up short on Black Friday.

How can I work out if my deal is legit?

“For an in-store only deal, save $500 on a Lenovo – Yoga 900 2-in-1 13.3” Touch-Screen Laptop (Intel Core i7, 8GB Memory, 256GB Solid State Drive) for $699.99.

With many retailers opening up on Thanksgiving, Black Friday is no longer the kickoff to the holiday shopping season that it once was.

The Disney store is calling today “Magical Friday” and has 20% off the entire store until 10:00 a.m. along with rock-bottom prices on many popular gifts, including Toy Story items. Singewald said she was merely the vehicle – “and sometimes the credit card” – as her daughters hunted for deals and worked on their shopping lists.

This steady growth in e-commerce follows nearly the same downward trend in sales at brick-and-mortar locations strongly suggesting people are just shifting from one method of shopping to another.