It’s getting colder, snow is falling and daylight hours are diminishing.

Along with that, we have everybody’s favorite chaotic retail massacre, Black Friday. The following Monday, Cyber Monday, is usually when online shopping is done, but stores’ lines are gradually becoming thinner.

A Gordon Haskett Black Friday survey from last year stated that 45 percent of customers shopped online. Is that just because of the pandemic, or is it the effect of online commerce becoming the norm?

Our world is slowly turning towards online shopping. Last year, over $813 billion was made in online sales in the United States, $7.4 billion going to Black Friday weekend alone.

In a poll taken last year, 30 percent said they would shop on Cyber Monday, while 24 percent said they would shop on Black Friday (traditionally). Staying on 2020’s sales, it was a record-breaking year for online commerce; over 100 million people shopped online. 

Because of the pandemic, this year’s Black Friday could see a surge in online sales, and an equivalent drop in traditional shopping. Gone are the days where people will camp outside stores for the best deals (mostly). Who needs to do that when you can buy anything and everything, anytime, online?

As the great Bo Burnham says, “Anything and everything, all of the time!”

Do you want a classic Nintendo Entertainment System? Amazon has it! And so does eBay! The fact of the matter is that online shopping is much more convenient. What does this mean for the future of traditional retail stores?

While online shopping is the “next step in commerce”, the future of traditional shopping might not be so bleak. There are many things “offline” shopping does better. For instance, with traditional shopping, you can actually experience the product. While online, it’s more of a guessing game.

To quote Tom Hanks, “You never know what your gonna get.”

One reason why stores still have staying power is that when you go out to buy something, you come back with it; whereas online, you must wait days, sometimes weeks for your product.

Plus, most people love human interactions, and you aren’t really able to create the same bond online.

Whatever side you identify with, we cannot deny that the future of commerce is being revolutionized. Will online retail become the primary way of shopping? Or will we, the people, continue to shop in-store? We will just have to wait and see.