Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, the holiday shopping season is in full form, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale days hitting this past week.

Except it seems like many of these events have lost their bloom. Black Friday now starts as early as three weeks ahead of the 4th Friday in November, and it’s not clear how that differs from Cyber Monday, which is not necessarily on Monday nor is it limited to products bought online.

While some stores seem busy, in many places, parking lots were only half full and the special deals were few and far between.

There are likely multiple reasons for this. Besides the sales starting earlier and going longer, prices for everything—including staples like food—are higher now. The economy is weaker and many people are either out of work or just barely making ends meet. Thousands of government employees just endured a 43-day shutdown and are probably less likely to splurge this season.

There also don’t seem to be many terrific deals, or new “must have” products that drive consumers to be the first in line so as not to be left out. And it’s easier to buy products online, especially when the inventory in many brick-and-mortar stores seems limited.

Does this mean we’ve seen the end of this late November madness? Probably not. The American public is conditioned to buy heavily during the last six weeks of the year. But perhaps not as heavily as in previous years. Maybe we’re becoming more well-seasoned.

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