Black Friday shoppers out in force

Early numbers weren’t out Friday on how many shoppers headed to stores on Thanksgiving, but it was expected that more than three times the number of people would venture out to shop on the day after the holiday, known as Black Friday.

The lines were long before Thanksgiving dinner got cold.

For decades, Black Friday was the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.

Yet again, trend experts say there’s no single item that’s making shoppers run to stores.

Twenty years ago, for example, Thanksgiving hours were unimaginable.

Shoppers who are looking for a deal on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 during Cyber Monday should take a look at the Amazon Cyber Monday sale which will be starting early this year.

After early stock market gains made Wednesday were largely wiped out by the end of the day, the early hours of trading Friday were still negative, despite the shopping holiday. It continued to advance. “Penney’s was the most crowded but they kept things moving along and everyone was very courteous”.

What the stores did thereafter varied. You can’t turn on the radio, open a paper or hang out with your Facebook “friends” without hearing about Black Friday.

Crystal Gomez from Queens, N.Y., started shopping at 11 p.m. Thursday and was loaded with bags from Toys R Us where she picked up Barbies and other gifts by 5 a.m. She also had shopped at Macy’s, Gap, Old Navy and Victoria’s Secret. Re-opens at 5 a.m. on Friday. And for a decade, it had been considered the official start of the holiday buying season.

Gone are the throngs of frenzied shoppers camping out for days ahead of the big sales bonanza on the day after Thanksgiving.

According to a 2014 study done by Georgetown University, nearly all consumers will shop at their favorite stores on Black Friday, while less than five percent of consumers get their shopping information from social media.

At the Northtown Mall, mall manager John Shasky said Thanksgiving sales are still evolving.

Opens at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Overall, there seemed to be smaller crowds throughout stores and malls across the country. But rather than being a stand-alone, standout day, it’s become part of an extended holiday shopping weekend. That’s what it feels like and that’s what it looks like….

Lisa Gutierrez of Aurora, Illinois, thought her strategy of waiting to go shopping until after kickoff of Thursday night’s National Football League game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers was a good one.

He echoed Trego’s definition of Black Friday, adding, “So much of the previous excitement on Black Friday is on Thanksgiving now”.

The annual ritual of Black Friday, as we know it, is over.

Carolann Craft, store manager of the Ephrata Wal-Mart, saw Black Friday the same way.

Walmart – Opens 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday deals available online Thanksgiving morning.

Business on Black Friday itself was “pretty good”, she said.

“It’s spread out our traffic”, he said. If we come back tomorrow, you can maybe get the same price – if you’re here at 6 a.m. I’m not going to get up that early.

Collins, the store team leader, said Black Friday volume was helped by a “fantastic response” to the “order pickup” feature on the Target website. He also said that he has been pleased with strong results in online sales. Customers can use the app to buy merchandise and have it brought to their cars while they wait at curbside, at no extra cost.

For Pam Williams, the Black Friday shopping has lost a bit of its luster because there’s no rush of getting a sought-after item.