What’s changed about Black Friday over the years [Video]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The countdown to Black Friday has already ended for some brands. Experts say it’s a sign of the times, as the best deals go digital.

Jane Thomas is a marketing professor at Winthrop University. She, along with her colleague and co-author Cara Peters, is also one of the first people to publish an academic analysis of Black Friday.

“We finished the big Thanksgiving meal, and everybody pulls out the circulars from the newspaper, and they’re clipping ads, and they’re planning this strategy, and I started to see this year after year,” Thomas said. “That’s where the idea came from.”

They followed it up with another piece in 2022 addressing how and why the holiday tradition had changed so drastically.

“I’m sure you’ve found yourself thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, how did Amazon know or put in any retailer that I needed a black …