Black Friday, holiday spending slated to increase in 2016

The mall opened Thursday from 6 p.m.to 1 a.m. and reopened Friday morning to more early shoppers.

“I wasn’t planning it but you know how it is”, Chandler said. “I went to Walmart last night”.

Shoppers from the United States and Britain to Greece and Australia splurged on deeply discounted goods during the annual Black Friday sales, with online purchases surging even as brick- and-mortar retailers fought back.

Many stores are offering the same deals as in previous years, like $19.99 boots that remain a big attraction, cashmere sweaters, and sheets.

As a result, this year’s Black Friday could be record-setting. Some retailers begin putting their items up for sale on Thanksgiving, while others email online specials to customers days or weeks in advance.

For millions of Americans, bargain shopping starts with the conclusion of Thanksgiving feasts.

Cole Guthrie and Jacob Kritner of Springfield drove to The Greene Town Center in Beavercreek to scope out some deals. “This is our third, and we’re going to hang out a little bit longer”, said Debbie Funk of Collegeville.

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, but it has expanded in recent years.

“It’s kind of fun that nobody is around”, said Garciacelis, as the crowd at Kohl’s steadily grew. “You need to be with family”.

How the holiday sales, whether in physical or digital outlets, translates to retailers’ bottom lines remains to be seen. He thinks over time it may become smaller but he says it probably won’t ever go away all together because it’s a tradition. Known as “Black Friday”, it takes its name from the day retailers were so overwhelmed with sales their budget lines were “in the black”.

In Rhode Island, shoppers who arrived after sunrise at the Garden City outdoor shopping mall in Cranston said they were glad their state, along with MA and ME, doesn’t let retailers open on Thanksgiving Day.

Even so, Paul Martin, KPMG’s UK Head of Retail said: “For retailers, it has always been questionable whether Black Friday really benefits them in the long-run, and in the current environment of rising costs and squeezed margins – perhaps it’s even more so”. “Last year’s misfortune is this year’s opportunity”, Thane Koning said.

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

Retailers, however, say carefully planned and targeted promotions with global suppliers allow them to achieve a sales boost while maintaining profit margins. The day after Thanksgiving, she would wake early and drive to the Paris Walmart before heading on into Lexington, where she would travel to a variety of stores, including Target, Toys-R-Us and the Fayette Mall. If you do it online, you save and you can get it delivered right to the house for free.

“Millennials continue to drive the trend of hitting the stores – both on their feet and online – as soon as the turkey is finished”, Prosper Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow said. “(Black Friday shopping) sets the whole tone for the holidays”, Dubbs said.

NRF estimated 137.4 million people will hit the stores this weekend, about 2 million more than previous year.

A shopper at Menard’s said a line of people several hundred yards long was waiting for the store to open at 6 a.m.

“All my friends were standing near the “Best Buy”.

“I started at midnight”, said Justin Ferguson. “We should stop the craziness”. The biggest discounts were for tablets, TVs and toys. “Deals are deals”, he said.