Stores Try To Cater To Savvier Customers On Black Friday

Bree Colley, 30, said she plans to go to Columbia Mall in Missouri on Friday with her mom in their yearly tradition. Late-night Thanksgiving sales events that segued into pre-dawn store openings led to lines across the country. Target will be pushing its Cyber Monday deals on Sunday and spreading them to the stores as well as online, and CEO Brian Cornell thinks those days could be the busiest of the year.

Target reported more than 60 percent of its online sales came from mobile customers, while Amazon reported mobile orders on Turkey Day exceeded Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday previous year. Spending during the overall season – November and December – is still expected to grow 3.6 percent to $655.8 billion, the NRF estimates.

The report points out an interesting trend: “Large retailers (those in Internet Retailer’s top 100) have seen twice the growth in online sales compared to small retailers since the beginning of the season”.

“I’ve been here on other Black Fridays and it was bad, but I guess this year because of the hours it’s not bad”.

Cole Guthrie and Jacob Kritner of Springfield drove to The Greene Town Center in Beavercreek to scope out some deals.

To mark the occasion Saturday, Stuff will host an artist in the store who will handpaint personalized holiday ornaments for customers while they shop.

That doesn’t bother Cedric Barnes of Dover, Del., an early morning shopper at the Tanger Outlets in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

Fort Lauderdale resident Cinthya Martins, who arrived at 9 a.m., also took advantage of the 50 percent-off deals on winter clothes at Hollister. “You need to be with family”.

The retailers that did remain closed saw sweeping lines when the doors finally opened.

Sullivan said the family was trying to stay busy after the death of her husband in October. “When they were kids, I was the guy up at 1 or 2 in the morning when the doors opened and the employees went running”.

Cool Springs and most other area malls made a decision to stay closed on Thanksgiving after opening at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving in 2015.

The store, located at 5500 Cornerstone North Blvd., advertised a giveaway of prizes, including gift cards, a firearm, a knife and a meat smoker.

“They said free gun, and I came running”, Brown said.

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, Miller was calling for volunteers on Facebook to help her gather up her Black Friday list during the sale.

But she didn’t miss the crowds or long lines she’s experienced in the past.

“Oh yeah, this is a redneck community”, he said.

The pair, who were shopping for six children between them, said they had little trouble with crowds. You can also check out the stores social media accounts to find special offers and coupons. He says every dollar shoppers spend online is probably going to be money they won’t spend in stores.

She and other shoppers who arrived after sunrise at the Garden City outdoor shopping mall in Cranston, Rhode Island, said they were glad their state – along with MA and ME – doesn’t let retailers open on Thanksgiving Day. But she said many online deals sell out quickly, so the best option is to head to the brick-and-mortar stores. At a Best Buy store in Alexandria, suburban Washington, a throng of shoppers lined up early to snag “doorbuster” deals.

“You really can not have the product of a political-oriented person in your store because 48% of the people aren’t going to like that, right?” he said on CNN. “We should stop the craziness”.

In addition to seeking bargains on TVs, items that drew crowds included cellphones and Hatchimals – eggs with a small, animated animal inside that hatch when given attention.