Black Friday not the shopping event it once was

Retailers dangled hefty discounts in their stores – after offering earlier deals on their websites – as they waged a high-stakes battle with Amazon.com Inc. and other rivals to capture as much spending as they could during the Black Friday shopping spree.

Instead of launching its massive online sales on Cyber Monday 2016, Walmart is releasing its Black Friday 2016 deals on Thanksgiving Day.

Those who normally try and avoid Black Friday shopping say they came out this year from all over the region for great deals, like the hot ticket item of televisions from Best Buy.

Consumers spent $3.34 billion shopping online on Friday, a 21.6 percent increase from the same day a year ago, according to Adobe, which tracks online retail transactions.

By noon, online Black Friday sales tracked by Adobe had surpassed $1 billion, leaving open the possibilities of 11 percent year-over-year sales growth and online revenue topping $3 billion for the first time.

Online sales on Friday hit $1.70 billion as of 3 p.m. EDT, according to Adobe Digital Index, after reaching $1.13 billion for the day on Thursday, up nearly 14 percent from a year ago.

Holiday sales are expected to be up 3.6 percent this year to more than $655 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.

In Virginia, Dana Sari says she prefers buying gifts from online catalogues and boutique retailers rather than larger corporations, which she says value her less as a customer.

Donnell Allen, a sales associate at JC Penny, attempts to hand out coupon packets while being rushed by a crowd of Black Friday shoppers shortly after the doors opened at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016, at Midland Park Mall in Midland, Texas.

“I do most everything online now”, Tate said. “I think they’re paying attention to online sales”, she said. Online spending rose almost 14 percent from previous year, continuing the trend away from shopping in stores.

Hobby Lobby – The store will be closed on Thanksgiving and will be open from 8 a.m.to 9 p.m. on Black Friday. The department store was on track to match Thursday’s digital performance on Black Friday, Mansell said. While my mission at MSP is to engage people in downtown, I don’t see problems with shopping at local chain stores as well.

For Angelica Elizondo and her family, Black Friday started at about 5 a.m. “Whoever’s got the best deals, that’s where I go”. “Really calm”, said shopper Lauren Green, who was in line outside a Zara clothing store in the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island east of NY at 5:20 a.m.

One thing shoppers won’t find at Macy’s: The Donald Trump line of menswear.

“It was packed; there was hardly any parking”, she said. The company expects to achieve more sales record this year, as it has expanded into new markets since then. Regardless of who you ask, however, it seems that all of them saw mobile shopping as a significant source of sales, reports TechCrunch.

Last year, the world’s largest retailer pulled up the “Cyber Monday” deals to the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving for the first time. It upgraded its price-compare feature, which lets you scan barcodes at physical stores to see if Amazon offers a better bargain.