New York: Shoppers were on the hunt for deals and were at the stores for entertainment yesterday as malls opened for what is still one of the busiest days of the year, even as the start of the holiday season edges ever earlier.
Julie Singewald’s Black Friday started at 4am at a Twin Cities outlet mall. By 6am, she and her two teenage daughters made it to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Singewald said she was merely the vehicle – “and sometimes the credit card” – as her daughters hunted for deals and worked on their shopping lists. Increasingly, the 44-year-old is doing more of her shopping online.
“I’m a point-and-click person,” she said. “If it were up to me, I would be in my pajamas and on my computer at home.”
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, used to launch the holiday season, but the competition to grab customers first is keen. Stores like Macy’s, Walmart, Target and more were open on Thursday evening in what they hope will be a new holiday tradition as they try to fight off competition from online juggernaut Amazon.
After what appeared to be a strong turnout for Thanksgiving sales, some early morning reports indicate that traffic to malls may be slower on Black Friday than last year as retailers spread the deals out throughout the week.
Walmart, which started its Black Friday sales on Thursday at 6pm, said shoppers were embracing technology products. Walmart’s US division chief merchandising officer Steve Bratspies said that in addition to Black Friday favourites like televisions and toys, they were looking for drones, virtual reality products and hoverboards. WalmMart started its online sale just after midnight on Thanksgiving, three hours earlier than last year. It reported that 70 per cent of the traffic to its website came from mobile devices.
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