How Black Friday Shopping Will (Hopefully) Be Different This Year

How Black Friday Shopping Will (Hopefully) Be Different This Year

Considering that we’re in the middle of the most serious health crisis in a century, it stands to reason that the shopping rush will be different this holiday season. There will still likely be millions of Americans who will brave the pandemic to show up at stores in person after Thanksgiving to score on Black Friday deals. We can see this is the case based on how many people are willing to travel during the holiday season. We hope that this How Black Friday Shopping Will (Hopefully) Be Different This Year post inspires you. 

However, with health officials putting out daily warnings and local governments getting more strict with lockdown measures, it seems likely there will be a considerable effort to incentivize people to shop remotely. Fortunately, this has been a trend for years and the online infrastructure is already in place.

How Black Friday Shopping Will (Hopefully) Be Different This Year

Online deals for pretty much everything

Expect to see online Black Friday deals and sales on everything from custom furniture to home entertainment centers. These days you can use coupon codes to get up to 25% off everything from living room, office, and bedroom furniture to decor and upholstery. With the rise of the need for remote communication and entertainment during the pandemic, more people are investing and reinvesting in computer technology. You don’t need a super high-tech CPU to use streaming video platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, but it needs to be good enough that your Internet connection doesn’t drop out every 10 seconds. 

It also needs to be able to handle the high resolution offered by these services. You don’t necessarily need to be able to use 1080p resolution, but ideally, you should be able to handle 720p for movies and shows. Perhaps just as important as video streaming is virtual chatting and remote conversations on platforms like Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, and others. For many people right now, this is the only way to safely see their extended families or loved ones and have face-to-face interactions. 

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Avoid IRL Black Friday Shopping

Because of these online deals, it may be possible to still stock up on Christmas shopping and home renovation deals without leaving the house. Many of the bigger retail companies are offering contactless delivery this year. Touch-free shopping is important during a pandemic and the bigger e-commerce and retail companies like Amazon have therefore invested heavily in comprehensive contactless delivery and pickup services. In other words, you don't have to leave your house and show up at Sears or Walmart this year. Both of these companies offer many of the same Back Friday deals on delivery as on in-store purchases. 

Black Friday shopping is certainly an American tradition and, for many families, it is a memorable annual activity, a strongly cherished part of the holiday season. But this year things are different and it’s important to adapt to that reality so that you can protect your family. After all, what’s more important, you and your family’s health or a 15% discount on appliances?

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A Gift Doesn’t Have To Cost Money

Every year some people plan holiday gifts that aren’t of the consumer variety but rather strike a personal cord. Perhaps a son writes a song for his mother or a daughter draws a portrait of her father. These are just two examples and they’re pretty cheesy but the point is it is possible to gift someone something meaningful without spending any money. If ever there was a year to do it, this would be it. It isn’t about making the gift acquisition easier so much as it is reducing the stigma and necessity of spending money during a tough financial time and, perhaps even more importantly, reducing the need to go to a store in person this year when all public health officials say that we should avoid large gatherings of people at all costs. 

It may sound melodramatic, but how we treat this 2020 holiday season could very well determine who will be around to enjoy next year’s holidays. The most important gift of all is making sure those close to us know we love them. So make it clear to them – especially older family members or those with health conditions – that they don’t need to go out and buy you a gift this year! We hope that this How Black Friday Shopping Will (Hopefully) Be Different This Year post inspires you. Happy shopping!

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