Best Buy has deals by the day, Toys R Us by the hour, bringing in crowds at differnt parts of the day and restocking overnight. Some had already shopped Thursday evening, reflecting a new normal of US holiday shopping, where stores open up with deals on Thanksgiving itself, rather than waiting until Black Friday. Some shoppers are even hitting the stores Thanksgiving as retailers add hours to their shopping season.
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The origins of the name are unclear, with some saying it refers to the intense jams of shoppers. She and her sister have been Black Friday shopping in Fort Dodge, Iowa, for about a decade, with Heisterkamp’s niece joining them in recent years.
The National Retail Federation estimates about 135.8 million people will shop this weekend, compared with 133.7 million a year ago.
The group also expects a 3.7 percent increase in sales this year to $630.5 billion for the season. The next biggest day on the agenda will be Saturday for Small Business Saturday, then its Cyber Monday for people shopping online from work. Reports on how many people shopped, and how much they spent, will be coming out over the next several days.
“It’s always the same intensity every year, people are looking for great deals and it’s a lot of fun”, said Greg Palmer, general manager of Teavana. The Black Friday shopping craze is on but it’s a little quieter than years past.
One big exception: J.C. Penney, which is opening two hours earlier at 3 p.m. on the holiday.
“You will see all these sales throughout November they call Black Friday sales but they’re not really Black Friday”.
Wal-Mart reported that Thursday went smoothly, after more than a year of planning. Target was an exception.
Some companies struggled to keep their websites up and running on Black Friday. “This is dead for Black Friday'”.
Suntrust Robinson Humphrey analysts were more blunt, calling Thursday a “bust”. In Arizona, families skipped the spending frenzy to go hiking. That’s what Bay area shoppers noticed Friday.
Kelly Selby, of Union Bridge, wore a Santa hat as she shopped through racks of clothes at Marshalls in Westminster for some Black Friday deals.
Hundreds of protesters blocked entrances to stores in Chicago’s high-end shopping district to draw attention to the police shooting of a black teenager.
Many of these sales will continue until late Friday evening. And while expectations weren’t out of this world, shoppers proved one thing: The American consumer is gaining strength as the economy improves. “The people by the tree over there, they’re not gonna get it”.
Entrances were also blocked at the Disney Store, the Apple Store, Nike, Tiffany & Co., and Neiman Marcus.
State Senate Republican Leah Vukmir of Wauwatosa says shoppers would find even bigger bargains if Wisconsin’s minimum markup law is repealed.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t do lines, crowds or violent shopping situations.
They arrived at 6 a.m.to be ready for a timed 7 a.m half-off sale of Skylander Infinity video game toys for their two young boys.
Carroll shoppers Friday afternoon seemed more concerned with pleasing their loved ones, getting into the holiday spirit, and spending time with friends and family while out and about, turning Black Friday from a consumerist nightmare into a pleasant holiday of its own.
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In Denver, for instance, Susan Montoya had almost an entire Kmart to herself Friday morning.
