Black Friday: Shoppers' frenzied attempts at finding the best bargain a delight for retailers

Saturday, November 29, 2008 3:00 AM  |  Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend | By Shavonne Potts

spotts@salisburypost.com

Surada Reid didn't start her shopping before dawn like many Black Friday shoppers, but by 9 a.m. she'd already hit three stores and was on her way to four more.

The Landis resident works at the Hefner VA Medical Center and started shopping around 8 a.m. after her shift ended.

"I left the VA and went straight to Belk's," she said.

With her list in hand, Reid began marking off places she had been and items she'd already purchased. Most of the gifts were for Christmas and others were things she wanted to buy.

Black Friday is typically when many consumers begin Christmas shopping. It's also the day many retailers hope to turn a profit, taking the year's losses from the red column to the black.

When Kohl's store manager Erin Johnson arrived at work around 2 a.m., only about two cars were in the parking lot. Nearly an hour later, Johnson brought out a barrier to form a line for people waiting outside the store.

She surveyed many of those in line, asking what type of big ticket items they intended to buy.

"They were looking for GPS, cameras and video cameras," she said.

Some of the people in line said the store's advertisement drew them.

The store was selling a GPS navigation unit for $100, while the original price was $250.

Customers can still cash in on some early bird specials today from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. The store closes at midnight, she said.

Johnson said the early bird prices are good for those seven hours and will go up afterward.

Sue Decamp knew what she wanted and intentionally waited for the crowds to dissipate. She began her shopping sometime after 9:30 a.m.

The Salisbury resident was in and out in 15 minutes. She said she could've been out sooner, but spent some extra time trying to decide which bedding her son would like.

"I came just for this," she said, holding her bedding purchase.

She bought the items from Kohl's for her son for Christmas. He already knew he was getting some bedding, she said.

Decamp was shopping at the store specifically for its early bird sale, which went on from 4 a.m. until 1 p.m.

"I got in line and now I'm going to work," she said.

Sacha Ellis and best friend Kim Whitner, both of Salisbury, made Friday a "field trip" with Kim's daughter, Calissa.

The women began shopping at 5 a.m. Friday and didn't plan to stop until well into the night.

The group hit Wal-Mart first and were disappointed. Ellis said they were looking specifically for blue jeans that were advertised for about $5. When they arrived at the store's register with nearly 20 pairs, they were told the sale applied only to a certain color of jeans.

Needless to say, the trio left the store without any purchases. A bit upset, the women pressed on toward their next batch of stores.

"We were trying to find which store had the best sales," Ellis said.

The women went to the Shoe Dept., Old Navy and then Bath and Body Works.

"We hit them up pretty hard. It was a field trip for us," Kim said, laughing.

Once they finished in Salisbury, the group was intent on driving to Concord Mills and then on to Charlotte for more holiday bargains.

David and Julie Vanhoose started their day at 6 Friday morning at Tractor Supply. They were at the store to buy a kerosene heater.

"We're winding down now. There wasn't nothing to motivate us," Julie said.

The couple called it quits around 10:30 a.m. while at the Salisbury Mall.

David said they stayed away from a lot of shopping because of all the people who began shopping around midnight.

Dealing with the crowds just makes it so "you don't want to go," he said.

The Salisbury residents went to Wal-Mart, but didn't exactly get what they were hoping for. Julie was looking for 500-thread-count sheet sets. By the time they got to the store around 7 a.m., they were out of those.

According to Wal-Mart's circular, the holiday sale ended Friday.