Black Friday shoppers lured by tech, toy deals
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At 6 a.m., workers and shoppers gear up for Black Friday and offer some advice. Tim Shortt
Shoppers hit stores Friday for the annual national frenzy, drawn by deals on electronics, video games and toys, or just a chance to get out with the family, but some malls seemed less crowded this year, as buyers either made their trek after Thanksgiving dinner or opted to stay home and buy online.
Shoppers who preferred the brick-and-mortar stores came looking for great deals. Others came for the buzz of holiday music and excited crowds. Still others hoped to use the Black Friday spotlight to draw attention to non-shopping issues, such as anger about the killing of a black teenager in Chicago or to push for raising minimum wages.
In what has become something of a Black Friday tradition around the country, at least two punchouts were reported in Kentucky at separate shopping malls, one in Louisville and one in Florence, the New York Daily News reports.
Sphero’s new $ 150 BB-8 droid is expected to be one of the hottest Star Wars gifts this holiday season. USA TODAY took it for a test drive. USA TODAY
The first took place Thursday night, with two men punching and slapping each other before knocking over a female shopper at Louisville’s Mall St. Matthews. A police officer finally broke up the melee, which was shared on social media.
The second incident occurred Friday morning, the Daily News reports, in a scuffle caught on video. Security measures have been beefed up at many malls and stores to cope with the rush of crowds, particularly after a Walmart worker was trampled to death at a store on Long Island in 2008.
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The National Retail Federation said it expected about 99.8 million people to shop on Black Friday and 135.8 million at some point in the four-day weekend. The trade group also expected sales for November and December to rise 3.7%.
Online sales on Thanksgiving grew 26% over last year, driven heavily by mobile devices, which accounted for 40% of online sales, according to IBM Watson Trend, which tracks spending by monitoring millions of transactions from retail websites.
While shopping is the top draw for the annual event, in Chicago, protesters used the high-profile occasion to express their anger over the release of a police dash-cam video this week that showed a white Chicago police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times last year. The officer has been charged with first-degree murder.
Despite cold drizzle, the third day of protests drew hundreds of marchers who blocked traffic along Michigan Avenue in the heart of one of the city’s busiest shopping districts.
In New York City, Walmart workers and their supporters protested outside the apartment of Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. The protest concluded 15 days of fasting, organizers say. The number of days reflects the call for pay of $ 15 an hour and full-time work.
The annual Black Friday ritual played out nationwide:
• In Rehoboth Beach, Del., Tanger Outlets extended Black Friday hours overnight. But the extra hours did little to abate the crowds of shoppers who filled the three shopping malls by mid-morning, many driving in circles for 20 minutes or more in search of parking.
Karol and Randy Kolb of Strasburg, Va., made a trip to the outlets as part of their holiday getaway to Ocean City, Md., not for any bargains or deals. “We already have all our Christmas shopping done,” Randy said. “We came for the people watching.”
• In Denver, at the upscale Cherry Creek Shopping Center, where an inch of snow had fallen, large crowds of mostly young women lined up outside H&M and the Victoria’s Secret Pink stores. As is its custom, H&M staff distributed coupons to the first people line. What was Krista Gwidt of Denver going to buy? “A hundred dollars of something,” she said with a smile, clutching her $ 100-off coupon.
• Even small stores got in on the act. In Montclair, N.J. South Moon Under, a trendy clothing shop, opened an hour earlier at 9 am and planned to close an hour later at 9 pm. Dana Bursik, assistant manager at South Moon Under, said that business had been good. “We always do Black Friday sales,” she said. “This is my third and its been better each year.”
Action figure toys on display at a Walmart store on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 in Rogers, Ark. Toys were among the top-sellers for retailers on Thanksgiving. (Photo: Invision for Walmart)
• In Vauxhall, N.J., the fog-shrouded parking lot outside a Target was a virtual ghost town just after 6 a.m. Friday with fewer than two dozens cars. Inside, some aisles had more red-garbed store employees than customers.
“We didn’t know if they were open” said Noel Sweeney of Springfield N.J., who has taken a Black Friday jaunt with her cousin, Dana Migliozzi, every year for the past 15 years. “We come for fun,” she said.
But Sweeney said she appreciated the calm after the likely shopping storm the night before when the earliest bargain hunters prowled the stores. “It’s good because they start the night before,” she says, “so by the time we come, the aisles are clear and there are no crowds.”
Migliozzi said she came without know what she wanted, adding: “It’s fun because you get ideas.”
Their red cart, which filled up during their visit, included $ 4.99 finger lights, and pajamas. Another purchase? Cups of hot coffee. “That’s the most important thing,” Migliozzi said.
According to retailers, shoppers were snapping up iPads at Target, movies, toys, TVs and gaming systems at Walmart and active apparel, kitchen appliances and luggage at Macy’s.
After the flurry of sales activity Thursday, some stores were relatively empty Friday morning. Shortly after the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall in Arlington, Va., opened at 6 a.m., just a handful of people had gathered in the food court. “We had a robust crowd here beginning at 6 o’clock last night,” said Todd Jerscheid, the mall’s marketing director.
On Friday, in Salisbury, Del., Mercedes Young and Ian Columna of Bridgeville, Del., were shopping at Target for their 2-year-old daughter. The couple started the night before at the Walmart in Seaford where they found deals on clothes, movies and other items. “It was crazy last night, but today’s not too bad,” Young said.
In a sign of the mixed messages some consumers are sending retailers, Kim Day, of Gloucester, Va., waited a half-hour in line at a Target in Falls Church to buy a Galaxy Note 5 phone, for a penny. How did she spend her time? Going online to dabble on Amazon, buying everything from Mr. Potato Head to a Fit Bit. “I feel fantastic,” she said.
Contributing: Susan Miller, in Falls Church, Va.; Charisse Jones in Vauxhall, N.J.; Trevor Hughes in Denver; Cindy Huang in Arlington,Va., Scott Goss, in Rehoboth Beach, Del.; Ilana Kowarski, of Florida Today, in Melbourne, Fla.; Liz Holland, of Delmarvanow, in Salisbury, Del.
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