It used to be that avid bargain hunters had to camp out with catheters and protein bars after taking a few days off from work to nab the best deals on Black Friday. (And once upon a time, those people spent the holidays with their families instead of with frazzled seasonal employees and glassy-eyed shoppers, but that’s neither here nor there.) Black Friday has since expanded its reach into midweek, with stores staying open on Thanksgiving to sell the toys and gadgets that would later be used as apologies while traveling to multiple locations for separate Christmas celebrations. Now Amazon is taking things a step further with an online store dedicated to Black Friday deals.
CNET reports the retail giant launched an online deals store on November 1 that is counting down to the Thanksgiving holiday week, because Amazon figures ’tis the season for Black Friday to become a season. The store will be open until December 22, giving everyone plenty of time to get their gifts delivered by drone. Amazon is offering its Prime members early access (i.e., a 30-minute head start) to more than 30,000 “lightning deals” (suck it, doorbusters), including discounts on TVs, Blu-Ray players, and headphones, the better to ignore the outside world with.
In 2014, Amazon also began promoting its Black Friday deals the day after Halloween, but this is the first year that a portion of the site is dedicated to their specific sales. At this point, we can probably expect to see a “Christmas In July” section pop up on Amazon on February 15.