“We’ve got great deals across the board, from basketball goals to ammunition and guns, to fire pits”. And forget the fisticuffs over flat-screen TVs. “I went in and they had a good deal on it”.
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Black Friday became a big deal much earlier than many of us think. And not every shopper was happy about that. This year’s crowds were smaller than last year’s, she said.
Black Friday for decades was a rite of passage for USA shoppers. Of those shoppers, almost 30 million planned on shopping instead of being with family on Thanksgiving Day.
Because of the massive amount of advertising that goes on before Black Friday, consumers know what types of deals they will be looking for.
This year, big chains that opened on Thanksgiving included Macy’s, Target and Wal-Mart.
That has led to the “graying” of Black Friday.
For Amanda Royer and her mom, Cindy, shopping on Black Friday is a tradition – but not necessarily because of the deals.
The group estimates overall sales for November and December will rise 3.7 percent to $630.5 billion compared with previous year. Others came for the buzz of holiday music and excited crowds. “The frenzy and traffic levels were subdued”, said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultancy.
Online sales on Thanksgiving increased 26 per cent over a year ago, driven heavily by mobile devices, which accounted for 40 per cent of online sales, according to IBM Watson Trend, which tracks spending by monitoring millions of transactions from retail websites.
Each year after the remnants of Thanksgiving dinner are put away, Colleen Parnitzke, her sister, Jennifer Dwyer, both of Tinley Park, and another sister, Erin Broders, and their mother Karen Clifford, both from New Lenox, spread out the sale and begin mapping out their Black Friday adventure.
Jeff Simpson, a principal at Deloitte, also said doorbusters – fat discounts on hot items that once drew shoppers in for store openings – are losing their “umph”.
While much of the focus falls to major retailers this weekend, Saturday is focused on more local, independent shops. Inside, some aisles had more red-garbed store employees than customers.
“They got watered down”, he said. Finally, you can get a Google Play gift card worth $100 for only $79.64 so it’s like paying less money for more.
Seasoned shopper Lynette Norcup is nostalgic for Black Fridays of the past.
“There’s no way I’m going back there”, she said. Some on Friday morning said they had already shopped online or visited the mall the night before.
But Sweeney said she appreciated the calm after the likely shopping storm the night before when the earliest bargain hunters prowled the stores. That’s making it Target’s biggest day online for sales yet, driven largely by electronics.
“I’d rather appreciate nature, rather than being at a mall or watching TV”, Rojas said.
But sometimes retailers lose when customers go online.
“It’s not really crowded now but it will be later”, she said.
For Pam Williams, the Black Friday shopping has lost a bit of its luster because there’s no rush of getting a sought-after item. Still, there doesn’t seem to be panic right now.
The Toys R Us store in Modesto opened its doors to Black Friday shoppers at 5 p.m. Thursday and didn’t close until 11 p.m. Friday.
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The Macy’s store at Water Tower Place mall on a rainy Chicago morning saw thin crowds in the early hours of Friday after a fairly busy Thanksgiving evening, store associates said.
