2008.11.28
Scoping out the Black Friday crowds
If the economy is impacting the pace of holiday shopping, it was not obvious today in the wee morning hours of the annual kickoff to the Christmas shopping season in the Roanoke Valley. In fact, some people told me that the Black Friday doorbuster deals were more important than ever this year.
At least 50 people lined up outside the doors of the Disney Store at Valley View Mall, which opened at 3:30 a.m. It was one of the first local stores to open, with a string of others following at 5 a.m., including Best Buy, Toys R Us and Home Depot.
The line of eager shoppers waiting for Best Buy’s doors to open stretched nearly to PetsMart by 4:30 a.m. Store manager, Rick Chappelear, said the line was as long as last year, though this year, people did not line up as early.
The first people in line arrived at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
Inside Target, particularly in the electronics and toy departments, there was barely room to move between aisles as consumers on a mission for bargains pushed and pulled their red shopping carts.
And in the first four minutes that Valley View Mall’s customer service department opened at 5 a.m., the mall gave away 200 goodies bags filled with treats, including a $300 mall gift certificate. That’s much faster than last year, said Ashley Likens, the mall's marketing manager. Last year, customer service associates had to remind shoppers about the giveaways.
“People really wanted that deal" this year, Likens said.
Gretchen Goodwin of Raleigh, N.C., has never before ventured before dawn for a Black Friday shopping spree. But this year, Goodwin, who was visiting her family in Vinton for Thanksgiving, was on a mission to buy a Guitar Hero III game bundle for her son. And she needed to find it cheaper than its regular $130 retail price.
At Best Buy today, she paid $80 for the game set.
“I wasn’t going to spend $130,” Goodwin said, while she waited in line with her purchase. “That’s $50 more than I can afford.”
After Best Buy, she was off to Kmart for other deals, such as a Craftsman’s tool table for her son. There the table is selling for $10 cheaper than its original price, Goodwin said.
At Target, Crystal English loaded up on toys for her son and several children whose names she chose from the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree.
Many of the toys that she purchased, including a Disney Pizar Cars toy, were discounted 50 percent or more.
Shopping on Black Friday “is going to help me out a lot financially this year,” said English of Roanoke.
Let me know how your Black Friday experience was today and share your assessment of the shopping crowds.
Mine was pretty simple...I just avoided it! I'll wait for the mad dash to die down and then do my shopping later on. I don't get frenzied over the mass advertised sales and specials, because I've almost always been able to get a similar or better deal later in the shopping season on what I'm looking for...and I don't have nearly the crowd headache to deal with by then.
Comment by Other John — November 28, 2008 @ 11:42 am
I believe the stores need to do away with these "doorbuster" items at one time, and offer them through out the holdiay season. When a person has to loose their life, as is the case at a Wal-Mart in New York, is the "deal" really worth is to the counsumer or the store?
Comment by Elizabeth — November 28, 2008 @ 5:53 pm
I shop for gifts all in one big swoop the week-end before Thanksgiving... pickins aren't so slim then, lines are not long.... I'll pay a little extra in order to have the ease of shopping any old time. Also, there are good sales throughout the entire year... why do it when the pickpockets are out in full force?
I certainly can't see being trampled or getting trampled just to save a few dollars.
We stayed home today and yesterday and ate leftovers and got fat on pie and whipped cream. So much more relaxing than standing in a line at the mall.
Comment by Di — November 29, 2008 @ 10:43 pm
I understand the concern about the stores' promotions that lead to the uncivil behavior, but is it the stores' fault? I don't believe that it is. My view is that it is the rather "savage" (quote from a witness in NY) actions of some people. Isn't this really an issue of abhorrent societal norms in some areas?
Comment by Jim D — November 30, 2008 @ 6:27 am
I'll blame the stores, marketing firms, and the people who do the trampling because they all contribute to these incidents. The stores put on these limited-time massive sales full-well knwoing there will be a mad rush to get those items at the prices they offer, when they are in stock or on that limited sale. Marketing firms play up the fervor and whip folks into a frenzy with their gimicks to come out at 4am waiting for a store to open. And the shoopers are the worst of the bunch. Civility, common sense, and simple humanity lose out to a sale, and it's pathetic. Our society has become so consumer-driven that the folks at the Wal-Mart got mad at the bystanders who tried to help the worker because they were blocking the path...so some of them got trampled too. And then the shoppers had the gaul to be angry when police tried to close the store down becuase the guy died. Absolutely shameful...and completely why we don't shop during any sale like that.
Comment by Other John — December 1, 2008 @ 9:47 am