BRADLEY, WV (WOAY) – Big crowds, packed stores, and full shelves are Black Friday traditions that practically died away in 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, after a slight return to normalcy in 2021, how are these biggest-day-of-the-year shopping trends looking now?
“I thought it would be a lot of people, we went out at like 4:30 this morning to come here and it wasn’t like anything I was expecting.”
“I think everybody is doing online shopping.”
From stores seeing a nearly 30% drop in shoppers last year, according to Forbes, to a global shipping crisis affecting supply chains everywhere, Black Friday 2020 was out of the ordinary. But as the tradition slowly returns to normal, many stores are still feeling at least some of the impact.
“We did run into a little bit of an issue, beef has been a little bit of an issue, there has been some spices and things that have been a little bit on back-order,” says Troy Stiffler, Owner of Beek Jerky Experience.
Taking this change in tradition even further, many stores now start Black Friday deals way before the single-day event, and like the Beef Jerkey Experience at the Crossroads Mall, many stores will continue the sales after the day is over.
Beyond finding the good deals, the customary Black Friday is looking a little brighter for the shoppers than the year prior.
“It’s really good just to see everybody,” Black Friday shopper, Kay Thomason says.
“I think last year with the COVID pandemic, we weren’t really sure what Black Friday would be like this year, and seeing this many people shopping is a really good sign, especially that we’re all coming back out and spending money,” she adds.
While Black Friday shopping started at the normal Thanksgiving night last year for the Crossroads Mall, shoppers had to wait until early Friday morning this year to get out and grab the deals.
