When they were launched in 1994/95, no one could have imagined what Amazon would become, or eBay.   What they started over 22 years ago has changed the world economy.  Point, click and go to checkout has become the norm.  And on this “Black Friday,” the busiest shopping day of the year, we noticed this:

“For the first time, more Americans are preparing to shop online this holiday season than in department stores, according to data from the National Retail Federation.”

So, could this be the last “Black Friday?”  That’s a fair question considered in this piece from CNN.  With everything now available online, will the big box stores like Target and Walmart suffer slow in-store sales?  Are department stores even relevant today?  The last new major mall in America was built in 2014.   And the Wall Street firm Credit Suisse has predicted 20-25% of malls will close in the next five years.  It’s almost unimaginable to think that a fixture of our culture for the past half century may soon be gone.

And so too may be Black Friday.  Remember those videos from a few years ago with shoppers trampled as they crash storefronts in search of savings?  According to The Washington Post, the post-Thanksgiving madness has lost its luster.  Many retailers began offering holiday savings early so no need to camp out and be the first one in Target Friday morning.  In fact, more than 40 percent of Americans have started their holiday shopping by November 1st.