This year’s holiday shopping season was unlike any other, with traditional Black Friday deals starting as early as 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday extended as a weeklong digital sale.
Many activists protested against the early sales because they feel that with sales starting earlier many people are cutting Thanksgiving short to go shopping. Professor Marianne Bickle, a professor of retail management at the University of South Carolina, feels differently.
“Lots of people don’t have the day after Thanksgiving off of work. They use shopping on Thanksgiving Day as a way to bond with their family and a way to save money,” Bickle said.
There has been a recent upswing in the promotion of Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Black Friday. Small Business Saturday began four years ago by American Express, in order to offset spending in big box stores and major retail chains. However, it had never been as publicized as it was this year.
“I think a lot of people finally understand how important it is. I feel like people in our community should buy at least two gifts from small retailers. It’s giving to our community and what makes it beautiful,” Bickle said.
Statistics for this year’s sales of Small Business Saturday have not yet been reported.
Sales declined since last year on Black Friday however, this is because stores were open Thanksgiving Day. Sales from this weekend cannot predict how the rest of the holiday season sales will go. Lots of people wait until the very last minute to buy gifts, get really excited and spend a lot of money. This increase in sales, however, is very brief.
No prediction can be made until at least another two weeks into the holidays.