The features that made Black Friday "a cultural phenomenon — the discounted electronics, the predawn openings, the curbside campsites, the incivility — are changing with the broader retail landscape," the N.Y. Times' Tiffany Hsu reports.
What's new: "Foot traffic into stores on Black Friday is slipping while e-commerce claims a growing portion of the sales."
Why it's happening: "Shoppers can now find bargains well before and long after Black Friday, and some deals are explicitly intended to draw spending away from the main event."
Why it matters: "The retail bonanza is increasingly met with indifference or disapproval by Americans who want to spend time with their families, sleep in and give underpaid retail employees a break."
