After a nice day of eating turkey and spending time with family, many Americans head out to their local malls to get great deals on the hottest items of the season. Malls and local stores are packed with discount-hungry patrons willing to fight to get that

Customers of Walmart in Idaho Falls, Idaho, shopping on Black Friday. Courtesy of the New York Times.

last cashmere scarf.

However, many are noticing that stores are looking considerably less crowded as the years go on. Many shoppers are turning to the Internet as a means to make purchases, foregoing the 45-minute lines and grouchy cashiers. According to Business Insider, online sales from Black Friday and Thanksgiving were around $6.3 billion on Friday evening and are only expected to rise tremendously as Cyber Monday approaches.

Some of this year’s top items included: Apple AirPods, Hatchimals, and L.O.L. Surprise toys. Many parents searched every local and online retailer in hopes of finding these items.

However, many online shoppers were disappointed to find that certain companies, includes Lowe’s, were experiencing serious technical difficulties. The incredible amount of online customers slows down their sites and causes many customers to become angry.

While the United States was experiencing its craziest weekend of shopping, others around the world were having a normal weekend. Black Friday is not as popular in other regions, such as Europe.

Shopping trends are expected to stay on the rise this holiday season. Cyber Monday 2017 is predicted to be the biggest online shopping day in history. With the rise of online shopping as opposed to in-store purchases, Cyber Monday may even eventually take over Black Friday as the biggest shopping day of the year.

By: Mary Moskowitz’18, IHA News Editor