The Beginning Of The End Of ‘Black Friday’ As We Know It?

Black Friday typically means three things: crowds, deals and crowds.

And as El Paso stores and malls gear up for another year of shopping madness, the National Retail Federation says a lot of Black Friday business is actually moving online.

Retailers are now promoting internet deals days and even weeks before the shopping holiday, spreading the word on their Facebook and Twitter pages and offering free shipping as enticement.

So, does this mean the end of Black Friday as we know it?

El Paso’s Bassett Place mall said despite the rise of online sales and even weeklong in-store sales, business is expected to be up next Friday when compared to last year.

“Some people just like to go out,” said Bassett Place Marketing Manager Marguerite Byers.

Byers said for a lot of shoppers, Black Friday will always mean braving the crowds and fighting for the best savings.

“It’s just the sport of shopping,” she chuckled.

El Paso shopper Beau Martin told ABC-7 he thinks online deals and extended sales only lure more shoppers to the malls.

“If they have sales now, then yea, people will go back,” he said.