Even though the Holidays are considered the best time of the year, holiday shopping causes a lot of stress and anxiety for many people. 

Compared to pre-pandemic times, shoppers are holiday shopping earlier in the season. Compared to 2019 levels Black Friday shopping levels dropped by 28.3%. This is mainly due to the fact that more Americans have completed their Holiday shopping entirely online and they have also begun their holiday shopping much earlier in the season compared to previous years. 

“This year I bought all my gifts for my friends and family online because it is much more convenient than going Black Friday shopping and standing in three hour lines,” junior Carolina Heimes said. 

The pandemic also had an enormous impact on holiday shopping. Many people decided against going Black Friday shopping due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19. Stores were also operating on reduced hours due to staffing issues and mandates that came with the pandemic. Many people would usually begin their Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving Day in previous years, but this year major retailers including Target, Walmart, and Best Buy remained closed on Thanksgiving day. 

“Normally my family and I go Black Friday shopping but these past two years we haven’t gone because we wanted to avoid the crowds due to the pandemic,” junior Natalie Lopez said. 

Due to ongoing concerns about Coronavirus many people have opted to participate in Cyber Monday over Black Friday. Cyber Monday offers people the opportunity to participate in sales from the comfort of your own home. This way shoppers can shop comfortably at home without having to worry about potentially being exposed to COVID-19. 

The possibility of shortages and delays that come from online shopping caused many people to opt to begin their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving. This year there have been global supply chain issues that have caused many holiday shipping delays. Due to the pandemic online shopping has peaked as well as labor shortages and traffic at shipping poets. 

“My family and I decided to start our Holiday shopping in October this year because we wanted to avoid the possibility of our packages not arriving on time,” junior Annette Concepcion said.

Due to these shipping delays, 2021 is not the year to participate in last minute holiday shopping. This year it is especially important to pay attention to estimated shipping times and if you seem to be cutting it close you may want to invest in expedited shipping. There could still be unexpected delays even if you got your holiday shopping done early. Along with shipping delays there have also been price increases due to inflation. 

Holiday shopping could become extremely stressful. That’s why it’s important to start early and be smart about your purchases.