From flat screen TVs to doorbuster sales, Black Friday is known for its affordable deals on almost everything sold at stores. From outlet malls to online shopping, almost everyone hopes to snag Black Friday deals before stores run out of stock. Despite the initial excitement of spending a single day shopping for the best deals, this year stores have been rolling out their supposed deals weeks in advance.

With online shopping becoming more prevalent as a quick and easy way to grab deals, the students at Lebanon Trail are no exception. 

“Though I did not have a chance to do in-person shopping, I did online shopping during Black Friday this year,” senior Advaita Puri said. 

Although the pandemic and quarantine changed the course of shopping in the past few years, shopping during Black Friday wasn’t especially different. 

“I think a lot more Black Friday shopping happened online, but other than that, it felt generally the same as other years,” senior Elise Wang said. 

With everyone rushing to grab the best deals they can during the holiday season, there is a rise in consumer spending and consumerism, mainly during Black Friday. 

“I do think that there is an issue regarding the culture of overbuying and overconsumption of items,” Puri said. “This creates a never-ending cycle of wastefulness and ultimately can harm the environment in the long term.”

While overconsumption can damage in the future, consumerism is what this unofficial holiday is all about. 

“I think the huge discounts and retail sales every store has can have negative impacts on consumers because of the hectic purchases and commotion, but that is also what defines Black Friday and makes it one of the most loved unofficial holidays in the US,” Wang said. 

There were a multitude of deals and offers in various stores this Black Friday. 

“There were sweaters and clothes for the winter season on sale at H&M as well as American Eagle which is where I bought the majority of my clothes during Black Friday this year,” senior Soumya Ajjampudi said. 

Black Friday is also a great opportunity to finish shopping for friends and family during the Holiday season while saving with great discounts and offers. 

“I was even able to buy gifts for my family and friends for secret santa, and I found pretty good deals on everything I wanted to buy for them,” Ajjampudi said.