Some on Friday morning said they had already shopped online or visited the mall the night before.
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The early-morning start proved productive for the sisters.
Stores, such as Best Buy, Target, Walmart and Amazon.com, are offering between 15 and 50 percent off for the biggest online shopping day of the year.
Consumer protection administrator Frank Frasetto says shoppers should read the fine print to make sure they’re getting the discounts they think they’re getting.
Other analysts point to the fact that up to 20 percent of shoppers plan to hit the stores over the holiday weekend. He said some stores saw a fair amount of activity around orders that were placed online and picked up in stores.
The signs were everywhere, advertising today only deals and Black Friday doorbusters. “We want to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving”, McVittie said.
“It was a little hectic, a lot of traffic, but it’s been worth it because it’s always been me and my mother’s tradition to do Black Friday”, said Black Friday shopper Pamela Campbell. Online sales also jumped by 22 percent on Thanksgiving Day, from midnight to 5 p.m. EST.
“No way. No way, I am not going near those stores on that day”, he said.
For the first time, there’s expected to be more people visiting retailers’ web sites through their smartphones than on desktop computers or tablets during the first weekend of the holiday shopping season that begins on Thanksgiving Day.
Ramona Beyer, standing with her relatives at Melbourne Square Mall in Melbourne, Fla., holding cups of Starbucks coffee, said she’s been Black Friday shopping since her two sons were in diapers.
Shoppers were out and about Friday at the Panama City Mall. “We buy just for the Black Friday weekend – probably close to $1 million of products just for the weeklong sale”.
Neal, a member who asked that his last name not be used for privacy, said it’s his fifth year doing the drive on Black Friday.
“The deals are good”, she said, pointing to a set of high-end knives in her cart.
Overall, the National Retail Federation expects holiday sales to rise 3.7 percent this year.
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Thedford said his store will continue with their Black Friday sales prices through Small Business Saturday.
