HONOLULU (KHON2) -- For decades, Black Friday has been one of the biggest shopping days of the year. The moniker was originally coined by retailers to indicate their shift from losses (in the red) to profits (in the black) thanks to holiday shopping demand. Get Hawaii's latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Since it falls the day after Thanksgiving, it marked the official kickoff for Christmas shopping. Tina Yamaki, president of Retail Merchants of Hawaii, said Black Friday sales often created a buying frenzy, with jam-packed stores and people waiting for hours—and sometimes even camping out for days—to get deep discounts. "We saw people in line for two days. Or, you know, they kind of skipped Thanksgiving, and stores would be open at midnight, and you’d have all these door-buster sales and things like that, and it was just crazy chaos," she explained. But that was before COVID. Hawaii holiday cheer coming to a street near you According to Yamaki, online shopping and the pandemic changed everything. Black Friday sales are no longer limited to a single day. "Black Friday now kind of starts in October. You might see something like electronics this week and jewelry the next week," she added. "And then when Black Friday comes, they still have some Black Friday specials, but if you don’t make it today, you still have tomorrow while supplies last." According to Yamaki, offering huge sales for a longer period of time benefits both retailers and customers. But she said people should still expect malls to be very busy on Black Friday because some retailers are offering exclusive in-store-only deals. "The parking lots are going to be crazy. So, you know, just drive with aloha. Shop with aloha," Yamaki said. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news And if you don’t have time to shop on Black Friday, Yamaki said there is still Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.