WLWT: Black Friday rush replaced by online shopping

UC economist says retailers now are offering an entire season of deals

The long lines filled with shoppers looking to score Black Friday deals are a relic of the past, WLWT reported.

Michael Jones, PhD
Assoc Professor
Academic Director, MAECON
LCB-Economics

Michael Jones, PhD, assistant professor of economics

Shoppers in the Cincinnati region and beyond are forgoing trips to stores the day after Thanksgiving, or on Thanksgiving itself, as was common in the past and instead shopping online.

Michael Jones, PhD, assistant professor of economics in the University of Cincinnati's Carl H. Lindner College of Business, said the one day of deals has been replaced by an entire season of sales.

“We won't see those same people lining up in front of the store like we did in the 2010s,” Jones said to WLWT. “It's no longer just a day or even just a week. It's now the Black Friday season or a month, and I think that reflects the nervousness that retailers have. They're trying to get out in front and trying to capture that consumer pocketbook early.”

See more from WLWT.

Featured image at top: An online shopper. Photo/rupixen.com via Unsplash

Impact Lives Here

The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.

Related Stories

3

Recent advances may speed time to endometriosis diagnosis

March 16, 2026

The average time to clinical diagnosis of endometriosis is nine years. Definitive diagnosis of the disease is difficult, and until recently, has relied on laparoscopic surgery. Now, as Medscape recently reported, novel clinical recommendations, advanced diagnostic tools and research into inflammation and immune responses, are bringing promise that women with endometriosis will find relief sooner and without surgery, according to experts, including Katie Burns, PhD, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine associate professor.