How Black Friday Has Evolved Throughout The Years
GLINTON
SONARI GLINTON  BYLINE: I'm doing what millions of people do on the day before Thanksgiving - standing in the parking lot of my grocery store. And when I'm finished with this story  I'm going to pick up some sweet potatoes  scallions and garlic for my Thanksgiving dinner.
GLINTON: Oh  boy  do I remember. Now that's Marshal Cohen. He's a retail analyst with The NPD Group. And we've made a bit of a tradition to check in on each other on the holiday. Cohen says retailers are coming to their senses  egged on by the consumer.
 GLINTON : So who won (laughter)?
 GLINTON : According to The NPD Group and some other consumer studies  in 2014  the most popular time for shopping during the Thanksgiving season was Thanksgiving at 6 p.m.  whereas in 2016  the most popular time was Black Friday at noon.
GLINTON: OK  here's the most interesting thing about all this. According to Elizabeth Currid-Halkett - she's an economic geographer at the University of Southern California - we're less materialistic.
GLINTON: Currid-Halkett and her doctoral student  Hyojung Lee  have been looking at spending patterns not just during the holidays.
GLINTON: Currid-Halkett says it's not just the rich. She has a book called "The Sum Of Small Things." She says the economy is mature. We've made a lot of stuff  and we have a lot of stuff. And to be super scientific  we're getting tired of all of it and kind of scaling back.
 GLINTON : All right  you heard it from the expert. The time you spend with your family is more important than getting a deal. OK  it's getting real in this parking lot. I got to run in. Happy Thanksgiving  everyone.  Sonari Glinton   NPR News  Los Angeles. Transcript provided by NPR  Copyright NPR.
SONARI [TGT]  BYLINE: I'm doing what millions of people do on the day before Thanksgiving - standing in the parking lot of my grocery store. And when I'm finished with this story  I'm going to pick up some sweet potatoes  scallions and garlic for my Thanksgiving dinner.
[TGT]: Oh  boy  do I remember. Now that's Marshal Cohen. He's a retail analyst with The NPD Group. And we've made a bit of a tradition to check in on each other on the holiday. Cohen says retailers are coming to their senses  egged on by the consumer.
 [TGT] : So who won (laughter)?
 [TGT] : According to The NPD Group and some other consumer studies  in 2014  the most popular time for shopping during the Thanksgiving season was Thanksgiving at 6 p.m.  whereas in 2016  the most popular time was Black Friday at noon.
[TGT]: OK  here's the most interesting thing about all this. According to Elizabeth Currid-Halkett - she's an economic geographer at the University of Southern California - we're less materialistic.
[TGT]: Currid-Halkett and her doctoral student  Hyojung Lee  have been looking at spending patterns not just during the holidays.
[TGT]: Currid-Halkett says it's not just the rich. She has a book called "The Sum Of Small Things." She says the economy is mature. We've made a lot of stuff  and we have a lot of stuff. And to be super scientific  we're getting tired of all of it and kind of scaling back.
 [TGT] : All right  you heard it from the expert. The time you spend with your family is more important than getting a deal. OK  it's getting real in this parking lot. I got to run in. Happy Thanksgiving  everyone.  Sonari Glinton   NPR News  Los Angeles. Transcript provided by NPR  Copyright NPR.