Camping out for Black Friday deals appears to be a vanishing holiday tradition

NBC Universal, Inc.

Thanksgiving tends to come with many traditions, but there's one that appears to be disappearing: long lines of people camping out for Black Friday deals.

In the past, DJ Smith was one of the shoppers who braved the cold on Thanksgiving night to score a deal on a television.

"I camped out once with my family, got a nice flat screen TV for like 80% off," he said.

Now that the Thanksgiving leftovers are put away, some residents are shifting your focus to that holiday shopping list. While retailers are ready for the crowds as they kick off the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season, so are law enforcement agencies with new plans to combat retail theft. Gia Vang reports.

But this Thanksgiving, there haven't been the normal Turkey day tents set up in places such as outside the Best Buy stores on Almaden Expressway and at Santana Row in San Jose.

Many say the internet is to blame.

“People don’t camp out for deals and stuff like that," shopper Chris Cuadra said. "I think deals are spread out throughout the month, so there’s no point of camping out if you’re going to get the same deal the next day."

Economists say it's hard to predict how the holiday shopping season will shape up this year. But the less people spend, the more inflation will drop, whether in person or online.

Another tradition, Cyber Monday, might be losing some of its luster as well.

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