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There are five fewer days between Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving – and Christmas Day compared to 2023. Over the past several years, the timing of holiday deals has been pulled forward to start earlier in the season.

This year offers the shortest length of time between Black Friday and Christmas Day in five years, with only 26 days between the holidays. Despite Black Friday falling later on the calendar, the overall season is still expected to result in big sales for retailers. The National Retail Federation expects retail sales in November and December to rise between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent compared to last year, reaching up to $989 billion.

Most of us still vividly remember getting the newspaper stuffed with department store ads in the Thanksgiving paper. And, from there Black Friday shopping began. Many stores opened on Thanksgiving evening to get early shoppers.

Now, the thought of leaving the house to shop after Thanksgiving dinner or waking up at the crack of dawn to hit the stores sounds miserable at best and terrifying at worst to older shoppers and even some young shoppers, many of whom shop online and have them delivered. They have left their love for Black Friday firmly in the past. 

However, there’s still a bit of Christmas magic in Black Friday shopping and finding a bargain or gift for someone special.

Many stores don’t open the night of Thanksgiving like they once did, but for the ones that do, do you really want to leave the warmth and comfort of your home (and your loved ones) to snag a cheap TV you probably don’t need?

Most stores have moved away from slashing all their prices only for Black Friday and have instead begun rolling out holiday savings throughout the month of November, with savings reaching a peak on the week of Thanksgiving. Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be the most well-known shopping days, but where you shop is more important than when you shop.

For the big national retailers that will open their doors before early Friday morning, holiday sales can make or break the whole year.

That’s also true for hundreds of small, locally owned retailers in Elizabethton – and that’s why the STAR encourages our readers to consider gifts made here and products sold by hometown merchants. The owners and employees of these small, local businesses live here, play here, dine here, shop here. That pays dividends: More of the money spent in the community stays here, supporting other residents and other businesses.

According to American Express, 68 cents of every dollar spent with a local business stays in the community.

So when you shop in local stores, you are creating jobs, funding local infrastructure and public services through your sales tax dollars and encouraging other entrepreneurs to set up shop in Elizabethton.

Healthy local economies contribute to the nation’s well-being. There are 33 million small businesses in the United States, according to the Small Business Administration. They account for almost half of private-sector employment and 43.5% of gross domestic product.

Yet millions of small businesses come and go every year. Starting a business is a bit of a gamble, and those that thrive often benefit from deep roots in the community.

Sure, it’s convenient to order something from Amazon or one of the other big e-tailers. But those purchases, even if you’re just buying a gift card, siphon money out of local circulation. And in the long run, that can undercut local businesses and the myriad community programs that they underwrite – youth sports, arts and meals and warm clothes for people in need, to name just a few.

Local business is critical to Carter County and Elizabethton, and this is a critical time of year for local merchants. So whether you plan to take part in Black Friday’s shopping extravaganza or hold off until later, please support Elizabethton merchants. It’s a wise investment in your hometown.