After eating their turkey dinner, many brace the cold for holiday deals: Black Friday, but this year is not expected to bring the brawls and battles seen in years past.
“This year we’re seeing inflation play a role in how consumers are making their holiday shopping decisions,” said NerdWallet’s Personal Finance Expert Sara Rathner. “They might be buying different kinds of items for their loved ones, or even spending less per person.”
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We asked ice skaters at The Pavilion what their plans are for Black Friday.
“I’m going to watch the World Cup with [my son],” said Christophe with his wife Crystal. The U.S. plays England Friday at 11:00 a.m.
“No, we’re going to go up to the mountain to go check out and see what’s happening at Bachelor,” said Brad who was skating with his daughter Chloe.
“We do no Black Friday,” said Matti skating with his two sons, Oskar and Hank. “That was 10 years ago we used to do that. Now, I don’t deal with the masses.”
Rathner also says while we might see more in-store shopping, online shopping may be more comfortable for some people this year.
One of the ice skating couples we spoke with said they will be doing a bit of both.
“I think we started a lot of online shopping. We’ll probably visit some local stores but probably not of the big box stores,” said Jessica and Shaun Clark of Eugene.
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We also asked the skaters if they had finished their holiday shopping yet.
“It’s mostly done and then I’m just kind of waiting until after Thanksgiving just for my mental health,” said Crystal and Christophe.
“We’re not done. We haven’t even started,” said Brad.
“I’m pretty much done. I have a few people left, but I’m already done so I don’t have to worry about it,” said Bend resident Zyla.
“Haven’t started. Haven’t even thought about it,” said Matti.
“Oh my gosh, no” and “Haven’t even started,” said Jessica and Shaun.
Black Friday could be a great place to start the Christmas shopping for certain items.
“This is a great time of year to buy small electronics like headphones, televisions of course are a big deal this time of year, and even things like clothing, so a lot of items that make great gifts,” said Rathner.
