Black Friday shoppers out in full force in Northeast Florida

Aucker said she was out by 7 a.m. Friday, but she also shopped Thanksgiving Day to pick up some gifts. “Some of the messages on their shirts included “Bring on the insane”, “I could give up shopping, but I’m not a quitter”, “On Dasher, on Dancer, on Mastercard and Visa” and:I’m only a morning person on Black Friday”.

Employees say when the store opened at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving, there were two lines of people wrapped all the way around the building waiting to get in.

At the Williamsburg Premium Outlets, a spokesperson says the parking lot was nearly totally full as of 10 p.m. Thursday.

National economists predict a historic bump in Black Friday sales.

Leslie Carey of Newington purchased a Lenovo laptop with a price tag slashed by $100 for Black Friday.

“Even though online shopping does suplement that but we know that people are going to be here and we want to reward them for choosing us”, Northlake Mall Marketing Director Sherri Chisolm-Whiteside said. “I’ve been standing here for five hours”, he said.

“This was our first year doing Black Friday shopping, so we made a decision to come early”, Presswood commented. “We try to have some fun as well”, Walton said.

“I’m exhausted”, she said. Stark believes that big door busters and nice weather contributed to the crowds, saying that the mall continues to see an increased number of people every year.

“I’ve been shopping since about 2 a.m”.

Alexis Chavez, 19, of Yucaipa said Thursday night was “crazy” at Target at Citrus Plaza, with heavily discounted televisions flying off the shelves.

“I personally like to go to a store and talk to someone”, she said. “I think there’s still just as many people shopping for the holidays and they’re happy to do it”.

She said Black Friday has been her Christmas shopping day the last couple of years.

The store’s regular hours are 10 a.m.to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. “They were giving coupons of different value, some up to $500”.

Customers agree Those long lines were mostly a problem in the stores with the best door-buster sales, like J.C. Penney, Bath and Body Works and H&M. “It’s become quite a trend, especially with the department stores”.

“We go home, get our wives and go shopping”, Brooks said.

While Black Friday mobs might be a thing of past, deals still abounded for those in search of them.