Black Friday deals are the best time to buy presents. Photo courtesy of USA Today.

As the holidays approach San Luis Obispo High School students are spending a lot of money on presents, and the best time to go shopping is on Black Friday. 

  While Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving and is known for having great deals on most items, the sales have extended to December with online stores having sales of their own.

  “Now [Black Friday is] online, where in other times you would wake up at five in the morning and go to your favorite store to get the things you don’t need,” said senior Levi Woffinden. 

  Recently Black Friday hasn’t been what it used to be. Before people would line up around the block to get into stores like Best Buy or Walmart so they could buy a TV or other items on sale, but now it’s all online. 

  Why would someone fight a grandma for a crockpot when they could order it online with just a click of a button?

  “[Black Friday] used to be like a crazy dash to go to stores on Friday after Thanksgiving, but now a lot of it’s online I don’t think it’s quite as crazy at the stores,” said economics teacher Gregory Ross. 

   Recently, Black Friday sales have extended into early December with many stores having deals that go on for a few weeks in case people miss them on Friday. Stores can do this with the help of apps that consumers use to buy items online without having to go to the store. 

  “[Black Friday] has been beneficial for the economy in that it allows businesses to clear their previous season inventory and for consumers to get goods at a discount. It boosts consumer spending for GDP in the whole economy,” said Ross. 

  Consumers spent a record $9.8 billion online on Black Friday, which marks a 7.5 percent increase over the year prior. Black Friday and Cyber Monday seem like they are merging together but that’s not bad. 

  Black Friday has been a staple of the holidays and is here to stay whether online or in person. 

Source: abcnews.go.com