It's another shopping season, but the classic opening of Black Friday in the US seems to be gone forever, with no lines at stores or crowds screaming to the shopping malls. The impact of the epidemic over the past two years has made black Friday even quieter. Traffic has recovered somewhat from last year, but it is still a far cry from pre-pandemic levels, and online sales are down in an unusual fashion amid supply chain crises. Will U.S. consumption pick up again this end-of-year shopping season?