Black Friday has always been a chaotic day for shoppers and employees. This year, Black Friday pulled in 9.8 billion in the U.S. Online shopping spiked 7.5% from the previous years. Black Friday reflects that people are more willing to spend more this year than in 2022 due to higher gas prices along with food inflation. Tighter budgets played a role in shopping this year but shoppers have become more comfortable with online shopping and might have spent a little more. 79 million dollars came from shoppers using the “Buy now, Pay later method” which gives shoppers flexible payment methods. The top-selling items this year were electronics like TVs, and smartwatches, along with toys and gaming. More than 200 million people shopped through black Friday into Cyber monday. “It’s still a cultural event, but it’s not what it was some years ago,” Craig Johnson, founder of the retail consultant Customer Growth Partners told The New York Times. “It’s nothing like it used to be.” When you think about Black Friday, the competitive landscape has really shifted to Black Friday deals prior to Black Friday,” Jeffrey Gennette, chief executive of Macy’s, told investors on a recent call as he explained why the company was spreading out its promotions”. Online shopping has put down the Black Friday crowds, online shopping has made it easier for shoppers to get fast delivery and where they don’t have to leave their homes. Black Friday is facing backlash due to employees not wanting to work on that day due to theft, violence, and the chaos of everything. Employees would rather just stay home and not worry about the inconvenience of working Black Friday. Consumers have spent 5 percent more online in the first 20 days of November than they did in the same period last year. Due to prices being so high on everything Black Friday isn’t what it used to be.
