Black Friday hype suffered a big decrease in 2024, due to a number of factors, including online shopping.
Is Black Friday even worth it anymore? It used to be that when that time of year came, Black Friday was something special people prioritized. But now it seems like the hype for the beloved event has slowly died down, resulting in less excitement and thrill for the event.
Discounts that are not that great, lack of interest from the general public, and online shopping have greatly contributed to the demise of Black Friday. A huge factor in the “death” of Black Friday is online shopping, with huge retailers such as Amazon, Target, and Walmart offering great deals that you can purchase while you’re chilling at home instead of waking up early and going to the store in person.
According to data from RetailNext, an analytics company that monitors store foot traffic, the decline on Black Friday was 3.2%. Even though that might not seem like a lot, it represents a huge decline compared to previous years.
As said before, a huge factor in the fall-off of Black Friday is the availability of purchasing items from the comfort of your own couch (Online Shopping). Amazon, a huge retailer and a massive contributor to the online shopping market played a huge role in Black Friday as people could purchase deals that are equal to or better than those of stores you have to go in person to access.
Surely, Black Friday has seen better days, but that doesn’t mean it is completely dead, according to Mastercard, “An estimated 197 million people shopped during the five days from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday, still indicating relatively robust spending patterns to kick off the holiday season.” Furthermore, comparing this year's Black Friday to last year there has been a significant increase in online shopping “...almost 15 percent more online on Black Friday than they did last year…”
The discounts don’t scream out “That’s a steal!” and the lines at 5:00 AM aren’t nearly as long, showing that the Black Friday of previous years is surely a thing of the past.
