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Today is Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year for Christmas and holiday shoppers.
It's no secret that America has grown accustomed to online shopping. In fact, a reported 85% of consumers made an online purchase during last year's holidays, according to national shopping data.
However, with COVID-19 thankfully further in our rear-view mirror after the economy was crippled in 2020 and 2021, research shows consumers are returning to traditional shopping in local stories than prior to the pandemic.
Let's hope so.
The NPD Group, which tracks national spending, projects online shopping will drop, and this year will be the first that consumers will make more of their purchases in stores rather than online.
NPD's percentage comparison of shopping in stores vs. online is only 46% to 45%, but when you're dealing with billions of consumers' dollars, it's still quite significant.
Fewer than 75% of consumers say they are planning to shop purely through e-tailers this year, down from 79% in 2021, NPD reports.
NPD also expects mass merchandisers to be big winners this holiday as 44% plan to shop for the holidays at mass merchants, up from 42% in 2021.
"After more than two years of heavy online shopping, consumers are ready to get back to the sport of shopping," Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry adviser for NPD, said.
Ah, the "sport" of shopping.
Part of what makes Christmas and holiday shopping special is going with family and friends, getting up early on Black Friday, having fun, making memories and, as the experienced shopper might say, "shop 'til you drop."
The other thing we like about it, as opposed to online shopping, is it supports local businesses -- which provide local employment.
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce has been championing a "buy local" motto for years, and it makes sense.
In addition to the local employment factor -- as opposed to online retail giants -- consider how many local businesses sponsor local events such as youth sports, concerts, school sales and other activities.
When was the last time your child or grandchild wore a uniform sponsored by Amazon or Google?
(Full disclosure, the Mirror has business relationships with both local retail stores as well as online partnerships with Google.)
We feel strongly that it's important to feed the hand that feeds you.
Enjoy Black Friday and the shopping season and with added traffic on our roads, please be patient and safe.