Black Friday, considered an annual holiday to any shopping addict, has a whole new look this year due to rising COVID-19 numbers across the country.

Although some may take the risk to go out, many will choose to stay home and find an alternative to the early morning event. 

Emily Epstein ’22, an annual Black Friday shopper, is uncomfortable with the thought of entering stores due toCOVID-19.. 

“I don’t think going there would make sense this year,” Epstein said. 

Epstein, who still wants to participate in the unofficial holiday, is finding other ways to shop. She plans to take advantage of the online sales provided by stores, ruling out any chance of catching and infecting others with the virus.  

“I am going to shop for Black Friday online this year because the malls will be extra crowded and I want to be safe because of the pandemic,” Epstein said. 

Similar to Epstien, a lot of people feel that the risk of in-person shopping outweighs the rewards of additional discounts. 

“I would rather shop online this year because then I don’t have to worry about getting COVID,” Molly Lynch ’23 said. 

Lynch is excited to shop online and feels that in-store shopping could be too hectic.

“I think that online shopping will also allow me to see more of the selection of what the store has which doesn’t usually happen during the shopping rush,” Lynch said. 

Very few students are going in-store Black Friday shopping in crowded areas such as malls, and instead they will be shopping at local stores with less foot traffic. 

Sydney Newman ’21 is planning to continue the tradition to go shopping, but not to a crowded store. Newman is planning to go to downtown Westport to check out if the sales will apply there.

  “I think going to downtown Westport is more of a realistic option than going to a mall this year,” Newman said.

With less crowded stores in more local areas, comfortable shoppers will be going in and out, while the online shoppers stay comfortable in their homes. 

“I am worried about going to places with large numbers of people,” Newman said, “so I think that being in Westport will be a lot better.”