COVID Concerns Shifting Black Friday Shopping To Online This Year
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - More people plan to shop for Black Friday deals online this year, as the pandemic keeps many shoppers home and big box stores change their strategies.
"What we're seeing this season, is due to the pandemic, people are shifting their holiday shopping to online for the first time," said Ryan Fleisch, head of product marketing for Adobe Analytics.
Nearly 51% of shoppers feel anxious about shopping in-store during the holidays, and 64% of their budget is expected to be spent online, according to a survey from Deloitte published last month.
Despite the financial woes brought on by an international pandemic, the National Retail Federation is expecting total holiday sales to increase between 3.6 and 5.2 percent.
Online shopping giants like Amazon are seeing their biggest season yet and all those deals will last longer this year.
"What's different about this Black Friday is not only are we going to see more people shopping online but we are going to see a merging of Black Friday and Cyber Monday," said Sara Skirboll, a shopping and trends expert at RetailMeNot.
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So which deals are best sought on Black Friday?
"Black Friday is going to be your best day to get discounts on TVs and appliances. But if you are in the market for toys or computers, you'll want to wait until the weekend following Thanksgiving," said Fleisch.
If you are venturing out on Black Friday experts say to expect lines, not only because die-hard shoppers still love the tradition but also due to capacity limits under the pandemic.
"The good news is the deals are going to last all weekend long, the bad news is items might not last all weekend long," said Skirboll.
Proof that even in a pandemic, holiday shopping carries on.
