Black Friday fever
A shopper pauses to peer into the shop window of Lucky Monkey on Sherman Avenue.
BILL BULEY/Press File
Black Friday shopping culture has evolved in recent years to encompass more than just the day after Thanksgiving, but for many, the in-store rush remains a mainstay of the shopping season.
About 131.7 million people are expected to shop on Black Friday across the country, with about 65% planning to shop in stores, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics consumer research firm.
The 2024 holiday consumer survey found that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are expected to be the biggest days for shopping for the 183.4 million shopping throughout the holiday weekend.
Locally, Big 5 Sporting Goods has deals running all day Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. where locals can bring home a new air rifle, boots, stainless steel tumbler, basketball and action grip hoop setup or an air mattress.
Lowe's is hosting Black Friday deals Friday through Monday on items including grills, power drills, pull-down kitchen faucets, ladders and washing machines.
Home Depot heralded its Christmas decorations this Black Friday with deals on inflatable Grinch lawn figures, nutcrackers, poinsettias and artificial trees.
Best Buy is hosting price-slashing offers for Theragun massagers, gaming laptops, headphones and new phones.
Early shopping has been trending this year, with about 58% of shoppers beginning their holiday shopping by early November, according to the 2024 holiday shopping survey from the National Retail Federation. By Thanksgiving weekend, holiday shoppers have completed about a quarter of their planned purchases on average.
In Kootenai County, Rathdrum Trading Post encouraged shoppers to participate in this trend, working in an additional shopping experience with its "bigger than Black Friday" deals Nov. 23.
Due to the rise of online shopping and changing shopping habits due to the pandemic, Black Friday sales events in recent years have been less about the early morning doorbuster mayhem of past years and more about deals extending beyond the day itself.
Last year, American shoppers spent a record $12.4 billion on Cyber Monday, according to Adobe Analytics and reporting from the Associated Press. That means $15.7 million per minute during the day’s peak hour of sales.