Now that we’re in the throes of the holiday buying season, there are wide-ranging  questions about the state of American retail sales. Whither goes the American consumer? Traditional brick and mortar stores? Shopping online? It’s a big decision. But perhaps more important than how you shop, is whether and to what extent you shop. And where that’s concerned, there’s no more important of a retail barometer than Black Friday, the nationwide shopping frenzy that kicks off the holiday shopping season.

Retail analysts have determined that around 70 percent of Americans participate in Black Friday shopping. And North Atlanta students are certainly among those who get into the buying fray. Among many of these are high school students who are looking for the latest trends. Battling to find the best prices and beat others to front of the line, it is a chaotic event for deal-hunters. Some popular spots that North Atlanta students shop at are Urban Outfitters and GameStop in Lenox Mall.

But a far larger trend for Gen Z shoppers is to let their phones do the shopping. Since 2016, online spending has increased by more than 18 percent and has hit a record of $7.9 billion. Of these sales 40 percent were done on phones, a 29 percent increase since last year.

Most teens are budget restricted and as a result are forced to look for more creative ways to shop. “I like to use Ebates because it rewards me for shopping online and I can use that money in the future to buy more things and earn more cash back,” said senior India Pearson.

In recent years, there have been wild Black Friday-related stories that have included melees among shoppers and even the occasional over-the-top videos of shoppers coming to blows. But among North Atlanta shoppers, no such fireworks were witnessed. “It was a lot tamer than I thought it would be,” said junior Lila Ward. “I’ve seen a ton of crazy videos about Black Friday at Target but when I went, Lenox Mall wasn’t super crowded.”

While shopping may not have been crazy this year, the prices sure were. “I saw such low prices, I just had to shop. Things were 50 to 70 percent off!” said senior Courtney Nation.

Although the shopping may be worth it, leaving your house may not be. Because of the crazy lines in stores many Warriors opted to fight the shopping battle on familiar territory: their computers. “There’s no point in shopping in store when you can find better deals online anyway! Most stores offered free shipping and buy one get one free offers online without the hassle of having to wait in line,” said senior India Pearson.

While Black Friday for some may seem a little daunting, this year it proved to be worth it. As we have turned into a more technologically dependent society, shopping online has proved to be better option and can be done from the comfort of your own home this holiday season.