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Black Friday is officially here, the busiest shopping day of the entire year.  This crazy shopping day has changed a lot in the last few years. 

Huge crowds at malls and stores remain, but web traffic continues to jump as many retailers start their sales early and give people the opportunity to finish their shopping list without having to leave the comfort of their homes.

There’s also been a big change in how retailers handle the Thanksgiving holiday. Just about everyone is closed now so that employees can spend time with their families. We think that’s great and should’ve always been the case. 

There were a few years there where Black Friday had basically become Thanksgiving. Back then, if you went shopping Friday morning, all of the best deals were long gone, which wasn’t the point of Black Friday.

So with all that said, if you’re going shopping Friday, we ask that you be courteous. Retail workers have always been an important part of our economy, but we think many were reminded of that over the last few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and job shortages.  This is the busiest and longest day for retail employees. The long lines seem to be never-ending, people are in a hurry and not always very nice and most of the country is off work. We encourage you to keep that in mind when you’re upset about long lines or trying to rush.

We also ask that you be courteous to other shoppers. Yes, we realize those $5 pillows are an amazing deal, but are they really worth fighting an elderly person over? News flash: They aren’t. None of it is. We’ve seen chaotic scenes from Black Fridays in the past, where people around the world have argued over movies that they probably can stream for cheaper than what they spent back then. 

No deal is worth acting that way.

Oh, and line cutters, please be courteous to other people. 

Just because you arrive late and won’t get the deal you want doesn’t mean you can jump in front of everyone else who arrived early and has been waiting in line. 

We also encourage you to shop locally first. We know that we have a shortage of big box retailers locally, but anything you can buy here, we ask that you do so. Those tax dollars go back into our local economy, rather than contributing to Opelika, Newnan or Columbus.

Be careful and have fun if you go shopping, but please remember to be nice. After all, it is the holiday season.