Holiday shopping is moving online

In the retail world, Friday is known as “Black Friday,” a day for businesses to boost profits before the end of the year as people begin their holiday shopping.

The unofficial holiday’s name” is coined from the phrase “in the black,” meaning the company is making a profit.

While the informal shopping day still brings shoppers to brick and mortar stores, the experience has been primarily moved online. Instead of shopping in person, many businesses are promoting online shopping instead; even going so far as starting Black Friday deals days or weeks before the designated day.

Sean Snaith, the director of the Institute for Economic Forecasting in the College of Business at the University of Central Florida, said the movement to shopping virtually was most likely because big retailers have a greater opportunity to profit from online shopping.

And while there’s a decline in in-person black Friday shopping for larger retailers, there’s still an opportunity for smaller, locally-owned businesses

“Small businesses can and do have access to the internet, but they don’t have the kind of resources that a national retail chain would do,” Snaith said. “But that’s okay, because I think while online spending continues to grow and will continue to grow, the experience of just sitting in front of a computer screen is not the same as physically going into a small business.”

In addition to changes in how people are shopping, Snaith said malls have also evolved to the changes and are trying to make shopping an experience, so people don’t just shop online. He said the concept of a traditional mall, where its store after store, is dying out.

“Instead, people are looking for more of an overall experience,” Snaith said. “So, where weather permits, you have these sorts of outdoor malls that offer entertainment beyond a traditional mall, food court… and shopping becomes sort of a composite experience.”

Aside from the shift to online shopping, Black Friday is historically the busiest shopping day of the year.