This Friday is supposed to be the kickoff of the busiest shopping period of the year, but some retail experts are saying Black Friday is losing its color.
"Gray Friday is actually a term that makes some sense," says Villanova University marketing Professor Charles Taylor.
Still, Taylor says there's no need for retailers to worry.
- SPECIAL SECTION: Black Friday Central
"It's still going to be the biggest retail shopping day of the year, by a wide margin," he predicts.
Cyber Monday sales are also on the decline.
"Cyber Monday isn't especially dead, it's just extended," says Sara Skirboll of RetailMeNot.com.
Extended well before and after the Monday following Thanksgiving, driven largely by millennials who have different shopping habits.
"Studies are showing that millenials actually like a longer Christmas season, and don't even seem to mind so much if it goes back a little before Halloween," Taylor notes.
