BRYAN, Texas — On Thanksgiving Day, people are usually lined up outside of their favorite stores awaiting Black Friday deals, but with many stores closed on Thanksgiving, here’s what you can expect for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
“This year, we’ve had Thanksgiving deals starting as early as October. In fact, we call this not Black Friday but Black last quarter,” said Venkatesh Shankar, marketing professor, Texas A&M University.
Shankar said high inflation and supply chain issues are reasons why deals are staring much earlier this year.
“It helps to spread out their inventory over a period of time,” said Shankar. “It helps retailers not to have to stock everything closer to this Thanksgiving Day period. It helps them also make sure that they have the tight product when its being ordered.”
Empty parking lots ahead of Black Friday could indicate people are waiting to get their deals online for Cyber Monday.
"Cyber Monday is expected to be bigger than Black Friday," Shankar said of this year.
With high inflation, it’s impacting the way people shop.
“The inflation has gone rampant in terms of it’s not coming down very easily,” said Shankar. “Interest rates have gone up. It’s hit the pocketbooks of a lot of American shoppers.”
“Many of the unfortunate and disadvantaged income households have to prioritize their spending,” said Shanker. “Those income brackets are now prioritizing staple items and essential items more. As a result, they’ll be spending less on high ticket items or durable items like apparel or electronics.”
Shoppers like Bryan resident Kaleb Johnson agree that Black Friday shopping has changed over time and people are not out and about like years past.
“Back then, you would have deals that start Friday and then people be lined up late that Thanksgiving Day like 6..7.. o’clock,” Johnson said. “You would see lines outside of Best Buy, people out in tents and stuff. It’s crazy.”
You can find Professor Shankar’s article on Black Friday here.
