Photos of shockingly empty stores prove that Black Friday as we know it is dead - but retailers still have a chance to dominate

Gunnar Rathbun/AP Images for Walmart

• Shoppers posted photos of nearly empty Target, Walmart, and Best Buy locations on Black Friday. 
• Typically, stores are overrun with hoards of shoppers. 
• This year, more people are shopping online, with more than $1.5 billion spent on Black Friday sales as of 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. 

Black Friday as we know it is dead. 

While some retailers managed to draw crowds and winding lines on Thanksgiving Day with Black Friday sales, other stores remained almost eerily empty as the shopping season kicked off this year. 

However, that may not necessarily be bad news for companies banking on a profitable holiday season. As of Thursday at 5 p.m., people had already spent more than $1.5 billion online, according to Adobe Analytics. 

Here's a look inside the shockingly empty stores this Black Friday: