With Black Friday just around the corner, many people are struggling with what to do. With old deals to be taken up on and late-night searching now a thing of the past, people are struggling. The long-anticipated time of the year with huge savings and deals, usually has people shoulder to shoulder trying to get the most bang for their buck. But the biggest question on everyone’s mind is “What about COVID?”. With stores only allowing a set number of people inside, what will they do?

A line out the front door can only do so much. With registers needing to be wiped down after every customer in most stores, there is no possible way it could get done safely and efficiently. With a store of that many people, it is also likely that at least one person will not have a mask on. In a global pandemic such as COVID-19, if one person were to be a carrier, that could lead to thousands of cases in one night, from a single store. If every store were to have this happen, cases of COVID would skyrocket overnight. 

With everyone concerned about their safety, people are wondering how they can take advantage of these nights of the past. Ease is a factor that people don’t take very lightly. If people can’t just walk inside and buy their desired item, there may be outrage. The biggest way stores can combat this is with online orders. Many stores have been using online orders in recent years in order to maximize profit. Although online orders sound like a good idea, they do have some obvious flaws. With so many people trying to take advantage of some good deals, these online systems could fail. If this were to happen, the company would be in danger. If too many people are trying to get a certain thing, it is likely that item could be sold out. There are also some stores that have spread out their deals. This is something that could actually be easier for some customers. It gives a longer window for people to buy what they want at a cheaper price. 

With everything going on right now, people don’t need any more stress in their lives. With a global pandemic in COVID-19, there is definitely an interruption in the normal this year. If stores move to a lot of online ordering, it could be stressful for people who are not comfortable or familiar with the process. This could lead them to losing out on better deals that they could have gotten in person. If a store has several days of deals, it could make it either more stressful or less stressful. Someone might be less stressed if they have more time to capitalize on savings. On other terms, someone could be stressing they won’t get a certain deal on a certain day if there are different deals. People are left wondering what’s going to happen on an all too familiar day, in a trying time.