The traditional holiday shopping season kicks off today — Black Friday — although tradition has ceded some ground to a changing retail landscape.

As Star-Advertiser business reporter Kristen Consillio reported this week, consumers have gotten a jump on the holiday sales, as retailers both online and off have pushed back the Black Friday boundaries, offering special discounts earlier and earlier. Some started offering deals from Nov. 1. National retailers like Macy’s and Best Buy started earlier this month.

We may find that over time, the defined event that is Black Friday — the circus of eager shoppers camped out overnight in front of their favorite stores, anxious to storm the barricades — will fade into nostalgia. But seasonal holiday shopping won’t lose its appeal.

An estimated 164 million Americans are expected to be shopping this weekend, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. For shopping purposes, the “weekend” includes Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Sunday and Cyber Monday.

Sales are expected to grow by as much as 4 percent, with young adults between 18 and 24 contributing to that growth.

Some may decry the consumerism of the season, reminding us that Christmas is a religious holiday that has nothing to do with buying stuff.

True. Still, there’s more to the holiday season’s gift-giving frenzy than buying a cheap flatscreen. It’s a tradition for other reasons: the festive atmosphere, holiday decorations, dining out, buying thoughtful gifts for those we love — the pleasure of the shopping experience.

Robust retail sales also can be good for Hawaii’s economy.

Hawaii residents are enthusiastic shoppers, evidenced by chain stores here regularly outperforming their mainland counterparts. It’s a powerful engine that can strengthen one of the pillars of our economy, especially if we shop local. Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday, so designated to encourage people to do their Christmas shopping at local, small retailers.

It’s a good idea; a gift carefully chosen from a local vendor is not only more thoughtful and imaginative than something from a big-box warehouse, it keeps more of the money here at home, supporting the business and the local residents it employs.

In Hawaii, small businesses in 2014 employed about 267,000 people, or about 52 percent of the workforce, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Much of that employment came from firms with fewer than 100 employees; in many cases with fewer than 20. Nearly 80,000 were employed in retail trade or accommodation and food services.

Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for October, the lowest it’s been since 1976 using current methodology, according to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. It sounds good, but the numbers are clouded; the state’s labor force has declined, possibly by people fleeing Hawaii’s high cost of living. Working two jobs to stay afloat is all too common.

It’s hoped that small businesses in Hawaii will grow stronger along with the retail sector, which is evolving. Trendy shops and restaurants are opening in and around Kakaako, along with the new apartment and condos that have transformed the area. Ala Moana Center has completed major phases of its redevelopment, with boutique stores packed alongside big retailers like Target. Ka Makana Ali‘i, a major new mall in Kapolei, opened around this time last year, drawing crowds attracted not only to the shopping, but to restaurants, entertainment and other diversions — something that shopping on the internet, for all its convenience, can’t match.

As the 2017 Christmas season begins in earnest, let’s remember that shopping can represent more than buying things; it can express our generosity, our support for our neighbors in business, and the pleasure of family and friends. And don’t forget to save something for those who can’t afford to go shopping at all.