After a long and delicious Thanksgiving dinner, Americans across the country snuggle into their beds with full stomachs, only to wake up at 4am to begin shopping for the next big holiday.

Retail stores have made Black Friday into a traditional commercial holiday for consumers all over America. Even though Christmas isn’t quite around the corner the day after Thanksgiving, retail stores have lured the consumers into their stores by using the brainwashing concepts of limited supply and outrageously low prices.

Promotions of discounts and sales which only take place early in the day bombard consumers and many become caught up with the rush of catching the early bird specials that the stores offer.

Thirty, forty, and fifty percent off discounts feed into the adrenaline of the shopper as they sprint through the stores and storm through the shelves in search of, not the best, but the most reasonably priced Christmas presents.

Black Friday has been nicknamed the biggest and most popular shopping season of the year, and many consumers are convinced by the media that sales will decrease if their holiday shopping is not completed by the weekend after thanksgiving.

Consumers are so overpowered by the retail sales and promotions of Black Friday, that many shoppers have their alarm clocks set for 3am in order to beat the crowd and catch the sales on this hectic shopping day.

“I do like saving money, don’t get me wrong, but I find myself caught up in the rush of getting up at 6am with the rest of them (Black Friday shoppers),” says Alaina Kanach, who is a frequent Black Friday Shopper.

Even those who are not as influenced by this so-called holiday tradition enough to wake up at the break of dawn, still drag themselves out into the jam-packed department stores just for the sake of shopping on the most popular shopping day of the year.

In the past few years, shoppers have been filling their credit cards with online Christmas purchases in the convenience of their own homes, rather than fighting through the crowds on Black Friday. Recently, a new era of Christmas shopping has arose with the idea of “Cyber Monday”

Since the rise of the internet, a new shopping phenomenon has been fashioned for those less intense shoppers who still want to partake in Black Friday frenzy. The Christmas online shopping season unofficially begins on “Cyber Monday,” which is the Monday following Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Another fact that many consumers are not away of is that a number of the deals that are advertised for Black Friday are leaked onto the internet before thanksgiving. Websites such as blackfridayads.com and blackfriday.gottadeal.com, give consumers a heads up about the deals that will be offered in the stores that day.

“Black Friday is my least favorite day to shop,” says Angela Cororel, who is also a frequent online shopper, “I’ve gotten addicted to online shopping, its so much easier once you get the hang out it, and I definitely don’t miss the crowded malls.”

The idea of Cyber Monday began with consumers who would relay on online shopping for any of their last minute purchases that they were unable to make on Black Friday.

Over the years, consumers found online shopping to be a more convenient means of Christmas shopping, and Cyber Monday has recently become an unofficial traditional holiday for shoppers.

Some shoppers still remain loyal to the traditional after Thanksgiving Black Friday holiday. Though what most consumers are not aware of are the motives behind the Black Friday concept that one should be aware of before swiping that credit card.

Retails may make their stores appear to have the best sales and discounts, but in reality you are getting an outrageous discount, but then making up for it with the price of the warranty, or additional accessories of the products.

Retailers can also lure you in by the “buy one get one half price” concept. This idea is intended to make the consumer spend more money by buying more merchandise, yet by still making them feel as if they are getting deal.

Consumers are also tricked into stores by the coupon policy, which only allows one to get the discount if they have a specific coupon that is not available in the store that day. Many times shoppers get lured into the stores by this concept, and then end up purchasing more merchandise because they had already made the trip to that store.

On Black Friday, some websites also allow shoppers to purchase the items online for the prices that are offered in the stores. If consumers are able to purchase the items they desire online in their own homes for the same price as the department stores, why is the public fleeing out the door on Black Friday to fight raging crowds?

Consumers will always be lured in by “good” deals and promotional sales by retails, but if we are going to get the Christmas shopping done, why not do it without the crowds and hassle? Despite the anticipation for the Christmas shopping tradition, there are many shoppers who are more discouraged about shopping on Black Friday because of the inconvenience of lines, and crowds.

“I think shopping online is much easier because there are no long lines, and there’s never a limited supply of products,” says Katie Bonner, who is another frequent online shopper.

In the new age of technology and online advancements, the Black Friday tradition may soon fade away in the eyes of the consumer while the online shopping experience begins to take over malls and department stores as we know them today.