Black Friday shoppers get their retail fix a day early

“I would rather pay $85 for a truck than $200”, said Brenesha Jordan, 33, who was planning to buy her 5-year-old son a motorized toy auto he could drive. “My wife plans everything – she says, ‘We’re going to this store, and this store'”. But grateful shoppers said they were expecting more of a mob scene.

Early reports for Thanksgiving Black Friday sales show a record number of consumers using their mobile devices for shopping.

All the information about deals doesn’t help if you don’t know when the stores you want to target open and close. This year, two retailers that had opened on the holiday in the past, Staples and GameStop, made a decision to remain closed.

Ashley Hobbes, of North Tonawanda, said she feels sorry for store employees who have to work on the holiday instead of being home with their families.

The most popular item people said they were waiting for? TVs.

She waited more than an hour in line at Toys R Us to get a go-cart and wagon for her grandchildren.

The shopping season spanning November and December is crucial for many retailers because the two months can account for anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of their annual sales.

The group predicted sales would jump 3.7 percent, down from 4.1 percent a year ago, to about $630.5 billion.

The US tradition of “Black Friday” is catching on in Australia, with online shopping sites adopting special deals today through to “Cyber Monday”, which are readily available for Australians.

“I cooked last night just so I could be out here early”, said Allen.

Vargas, who was at the J.C. Penney in Wayne on Thursday, said he wanted to surprise his wife with an expensive winter coat that she said she wanted. “Flat-out, they’ve gotten worse”, she said.

Walters said she has always taken advantage of Black Friday deals to complete her Christmas shopping, but this year was the first year she ventured out early – after her turkey dinner.

Walmart pledged to offer many great deals online this year, with its Black Friday sales starting online at 3 a.m. Thursday morning.

People across the region spend the day stuffing themselves with good food and enjoying family time, and now, some are getting ready for the next leg of the holiday and are heading out for some Black Friday shopping.

Michael Schumacher has been the first in line on Black Friday at Target in Fargo five years in a row. Like that time we slept overnight on the concrete, waiting for the doors to open …

Some shoppers were out for their first time.

Sam Costanza/for New York Daily News Shoppers rush into Macy’s when the doors opened at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Retailers said they open early in response to consumer demand.

“I brought a couple books”, Valentin said.