Remember the days of Black Friday shopping frenzies? Years later, items are a click away

A terrified Victoria's Secret Pink staff member stands on the table to escape the clawing hands of frenzied shoppers.

In a video aired on ABC News in 2018, Black Friday shoppers clamor and shove one another, fighting over leopard print jackets at a store in Chattanooga.

"Oh, my God!" the staff member screams. "No!"

It's an image familiar to shoppers who have experience with doorbuster sales during one of the biggest shopping days of the year. While the vast majority of Black Friday sales are peaceful and orderly, chaotic circumstances have arisen during previous years.

But a lot of that chaos over the last decade has given way to online shopping. Meanwhile, some families with Black Friday traditions have ditched the holiday for the convenience factor of Cyber Monday sales.

Cyber Monday 2022 was the biggest shopping day of the holiday season, according to Adobe analytics. Consumers spent a record total of $11.3 billion — 5.8% more than 2021 spending on that day.

The online shopping day has eclipsed the once legendary Black Friday.

With changing trends come changing traditions. Big box stores increasingly spread the deals out over days or weeks, shifting the focus further from one single day of deals.

Despite the ubiquitous deals, shopping small still has a huge impact. Data shows consumers spending their holiday budgets at local shops make an impact on year-round revenue. According to one small business owner in the Nashville area, shopping small can make a difference in the community at the local level.

'It makes our dreams come true': Shopping small still has big impact

According to survey data from Constant Contact, a digital marketing platform, half of all small businesses make more than a quarter of their annual revenue goals during the holiday season, and 75% of retail small businesses say they rely heavily on holiday customers.

Sarah Pounders is the co-owner of Made in TN, an online and in-store small retail business that stocks Tennessee-made gifts and products. The store partners with local Tennessee manufacturers all year long, but the holidays are an extremely busy and important time.

"We start planning in the summer," Pounders said. "By the time the fourth quarter gets here it's a full on press to get everything ready."

Made in TN has four retail store locations in the Nashville area, including one in The Factory in Franklin. Shelves in November and December are lined with handmade ornaments from Spirit of Nashville, artisan soaps from Music City Suds and Nashville Soap Company and kitchen staples from the Loveless Café. Customers can also find products made in Knoxville, Memphis and other Tennessee cities.

Part of the challenge leading up to the holiday season is ordering enough inventory to have in stock for shoppers while also giving the local manufacturers enough time to prepare those items.

But that hard work can pay off in a big way, Pounders said. The Made in TN stores and online platform help elevate the small creators who depend on their wholesale accounts to reach customers.

"Our business really does help leverage and grow the income for all these small businesses," Pounders said. "You can't buy a lot of the things that we carry just anywhere. Those people rely on their wholesale business for their income."

Data also shows consumers aren't fully aware of the impact their dollars have at the local level. While 58% of retail small businesses say that holiday customers are "extremely important" to the overall success of their business, only one third of consumers feel that visiting or purchasing during the holidays makes a significant impact on a small business’s livelihood.

Dave Charest, a small business expert from Constant Contact, said Americans may be experiencing some level of what he calls small business blindness.

"Small businesses make a big impact on our lives," Charest said. "Over 90% of Americans interact with a small business weekly — whether it’s their local stylist, dry cleaner, real estate agent, child care provider, or favorite restaurant."

Pounders said she wants people to know how far their dollars can go if they're spent locally.

"This might sound cliché, but with every purchase you make, someone is doing a happy dance," she said. "In small business, each purchase, each review, each recommendation, all of those things go such a long way in keeping our business going. It makes our dreams come true."

Big box retailers spread deals out, lean in to online shopping

When it comes to brand-name toys, electronics, clothes and other popular gifts, big box retail chains are king. They set the shopping trends, which in turn change the way consumers behave during the holiday season.

Big box retailers like Target and Walmart have had years to adapt to the bisected holiday shopping landscape. One of the major changes has been the addition of several days or sometimes weeks of "Black Friday" deals.

Additionally, both of these stores will be closed nationwide on Thanksgiving. The policy has become the new normal for larger retailers who closed stores on Thanksgiving 2020 for the first time in decades.

This year, Walmart announced its stores would offer two Black Friday "events" — one from Wednesday, Nov. 8 to Friday, Nov. 10 and another from Wednesday, Nov. 22 to Friday, Nov. 24, the traditional Black Friday.

That's all in addition to dedicated sales and deals on Cyber Monday, this year on Nov. 27.

Target has adopted a similar approach, with several weeks of savings mapped out all the way from Oct. 29 to Thanksgiving weekend. The most commonly advertised deals in the first week of sales were on electronics and video games, ranging from $100 off specific Beats headphones to 50% off Nintendo Switch games. But sales could be found on products in almost every single category.

Walmart and Target are both key retailers for toy sales, which account for a huge chunk of holiday spending, especially on Cyber Monday. According to Adobe Analytics, toy discounts peaked at 34% off during Cyber Monday 2022.

Charest said in order for small retail businesses to stand out amid the noise, they'll have to stay in contact with customers year-round.

"While it can be difficult to match the steep discounts and free same-day shipping offered by larger competitors, our studies show that 73% of Americans prefer to support small businesses over larger ones," he said. "It all comes down to authenticity. People want to support businesses they know, like, and trust and to do that, they need to feel connected to you."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville small businesses feel impact of Black Friday shopping