SAN DIEGO — Due to the pandemic, major chains are laying out their Black Friday deals earlier than ever -- and mostly online. With the click of your keyboard, it's never been easier or more highly encouraged to skip the age-old American tradition of lining up shoulder-to-shoulder outside stores for Black Friday deals.
"I usually come in store, but at this point I'll just go to Amazon. It feels safer at least." said a shopper.
"I really hope that it doesn't get as chaotic as it normally does on Black Friday," said another shopper.
"I think a lot more people are ordering online and finding other ways to get things," said another shopper.
Retailers are offering Black Friday discounts earlier and online this year to spread out shoppers.
For example, the price on a Shark IQ robot vacuum has been slashed $195 at Walmart and a Ninja Foodi pressure cooker and air fryer is on sale for $100 off at Bed Bath and Beyond.
Stores that used to open Thanksgiving evening to kickoff Black Friday shopping are closed, Target being one of them.
Here is a list of some others:
The national retail federation forecasted total holiday sales this year could reach about $766 billion, a 5.2% increase from last year.