With holiday shopping in full swing, USC students are steering clear of in-store sales and letting their phones and computers do their shopping. The reason, they say, is that there are fewer big deals in stores coupled with the convenience of using online outlets instead.
With Thanksgiving just passing and Christmas right around the corner, companies nationwide have begun their annual holiday sales.
Companies kicked off the savings tradition with Black Friday, and while the event used to be one of the most anticipated sales of the year, it is rapidly being replaced by Cyber Monday with in store sales increasing by 1% this year, while online sales boomed by 8.5% according to Mastercard’s SpendingPulse insights.
Over the past few years online shopping has increased, decreasing the amount of people in store shopping, a trend which is very apparent in Black Friday turnouts. For example, before Cyber Monday, people used to line up outside stores hours before opening on Black Friday to catch the best sales, however we rarely see this anymore.
The decrease in in-person shopping is in part due to COVID:, During the pandemic,as this is when shopping in-store began to follow a downward trend and online shopping began to become even more popular.
Angel Quang, a freshman majoring in Computer Science and Business Administration, said that she preferred Cyber Monday sales to Black Friday sales because they it areis more “accessible.”
“There’s fewer sales. From what I’ve seen on the Internet, there’s not really a lot of people lining up for Black Friday shopping…It’s like 20% off but at what cost?” Quang said.
Another student, Uso Atuegbu, a freshman majoring in neuroscience, agreed, saying that most of the sales aren’t “steals” anymore which makes it less desirable and worthwhile for shoppers, especially in-store.
Professor Vitaly Glozman, who teaches data sciences and operations in the Marshall School of Business, says that the overall discount percentages offered during sales this year are roughly the same as in past years. But consumers feel that the savings are less because the overall price per item has increased.
Glozman also believes that despite the rise in online shopping with sales such as Cyber Monday, people will continue to shop in stores around the holidays, especially for more expensive items.
“I think people complain, but a lot of people kind of like the atmosphere, the social atmosphere, and the whole holiday spirit,” he said.
While he is unsure if most of the buying will be done online versus in store he expects people will go to malls and retail stores even if it is just for the experience.
However, USC senior and acting major, Corey Gifft, is done with holiday shopping and sales, chalking it up to “marketing manipulation.”
“The state of our economy has fallen into this hyper-capitalistic view that isn’t sustainable for growing or incoming generations. Also Black Friday was just terrible. The sales didn’t really feel like sales,” he said.
As holiday shopping continues throughout the season, it is clear that students will be doing the bulk of their shopping online.