Morgan Drake

Black Friday is a term that may strike fear into many people’s hearts. What began as an event that helped save money on holiday shopping has turned into a fight to the death for great deals...literally. In 2013 alone there were 15 injuries and 1 death on Black Friday, bringing the total to 90 injuries and 7 deaths since 2006. Despite the horrific events that are associated with this tradition, people all across America still wait for days on end in attempt to be the first ones to rush into a store when it opens. However, with sales being pushed earlier and earlier every year, and with online shopping growing more popular, the actual Black Friday might not be quite as deadly this year.

As sales are continually starting earlier each year, the hustle of Black Friday is expected to die down. Wal-Mart will be expanding their Black Friday sales throughout the entire last week of November, and many other stores are extended sales into Thanksgiving day as well.

“It used to be called Black Friday, then it became Thursday, now it’s a week long,” states Wal-Mart U.S. chief merchant Duncan Mac Naughton, “Maybe we should just call it November.”

For those who would love to spend their Thanksgiving Day standing in line for hours, earlier sales are great. However, for those normal people still left in the world, Thanksgiving is a time meant to be spent with family. There’s still another option though, that will allow people to get the same deals and avoid the chaos. Online shopping has been on the rise for years, making it easy to purchase items from the comfort of your own home.

Image courtesy of: stylelist.com (fair use)

With more people doing their Black Friday shopping online, there will hopefully be a decrease in the craziness that is all too familiar to regular Black Friday shoppers. USA Today predicts that Black Friday deals will be better online and with many stores offering identical products online and even e-DoorBusters, lining up in advance is fairly pointless. They also predict that Cyber Monday, the Monday proceeding Thanksgiving, will crush Black Friday. Sales and discounts are predicted to outshine those on Black Friday. Cyber Monday will also be extended to two days.

People trampling others for discounted items just doesn't seem right after celebrating a holiday of being thankful for what you already have. Nothing is for certain, but one can hope that this manic tradition will finally calm down.