Americans hit the stores early in rush for bargains
Print Edition
AFTER enjoying the Thanksgiving turkey, many Americans hit the stores on Thursday for what retailers hope will be a new tradition to start the holiday shopping season.
Throngs of shoppers lined up at Macy’s Herald Square in Manhattan for its evening opening, looking for deals, and Target estimated hundreds were waiting outside a store in Jersey City, New Jersey. The competition to grab customers first is keen.
“It’s manic. It’s crazy, but it is fun,” said Maria Elfes of Sydney, Australia, who was at Macy’s. It was her seventh visit to New York but her first time shopping on Thanksgiving.
Lots of stores are offering the same deals as in previous years, like US$19.99 boots that remain a big attraction, cashmere sweaters and sheets. For some shoppers, electronics at a big discount proved an irresistible draw. “Televisions, man, televisions. Beautiful big screens so I can watch sports,” said William Junkin, a recently retired longshoreman shopping at Best Buy in Howell, New Jersey. “I’m hoping to buy two of them, and I saw they had some real good prices, so maybe I’ll splurge on some other stuff as well.”
Martin McDuffie, 34, came to a Wal-Mart in suburban Columbia, South Carolina, for just one thing — a 60-inch television for US$398. He’d been saving to replace his 32-inch TV.
“This is going to be a big upgrade,” McDuffie said.
Other items that drew crowds at the store were cellphones, DVDs, video games and Hatchimals — eggs with a small, animated toy animal inside that hatch when given attention.
As the beginning of the holiday season creeps ever earlier, retailers have been offering discounts on holiday merchandise since late October. The start used to be the day after Thanksgiving, but many mall operators and major stores are going earlier.
“Most of the time Black Friday deals start the day of Thanksgiving,” said Ashley Shelton of Columbia, Missouri, who was with her boyfriend and heading to Wal-Mart. “So tomorrow we’re not really going to do as much shopping. Shopping starts on Thursday.”
Target CEO Brian Cornell, who was at the store in Jersey City, said he was encouraged by early reports from stores around the country, and cited lower food and fuel prices and a solid job market as reasons to be optimistic. “It’s really a good time to be a consumer,” he said.
Hot buys online and in stores were sleepwear, Apple items and board games.
Leslie Lopez, from Jersey City, was pushing a cart of “Star Wars” and “Frozen” toys. Her friend Bariah Watt bought a Samsung TV for US$247, down from about US$400, but had no luck finding a Nintendo NES Classic system, originally priced at US$60. Watt says she would have paid several hundred to get her hands on it. “I’m a Nintendo kid,” she said. “It takes me back to my childhood.”
However, many workers complain that stores are putting profits over their family time, and some shoppers vow never to shop on the holiday.
At one Wal-Mart, Tonjua Calhoun said she wished the sales started after Thanksgiving. “I think they ought to give everyone a whole day with their families,” she said. “It was a lot more fun when you woke up Friday, grabbed an early breakfast and went all day.”
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