|
![TMCNet: Shop 'til you drop ... some dough [Sentinel and Enterprise, Fitchburg, Mass.]](http://images.tmcnet.com/siteart/invisible.gif)
Shop 'til you drop ... some dough [Sentinel and Enterprise, Fitchburg, Mass.]
(Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg, MA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 28--LEOMINSTER -- The motto outside Target at Orchard Hill Park early Friday morning seemed to be "You snooze, you lose," as shoppers waited anxiously to get inside for Black Friday deals.
The people at the front of the Target line -- as well as their counterparts at Best Buy and other chain retailers in Leominster -- spent the drizzly night outside in hopes of being the first to snatch up heavily discounted electronics and to put a dent in their holiday shopping lists, as stores opened as early as midnight to 6 a.m. across the city.
Leona Phaneuf, 30, of Fitchburg, is a regular Black Friday shopper, and she settled at her post near the front of the line to pick up an LCD television, as well as some gifts for her family before Target opened at 5 a.m.
"We got here around 10:30 last night," she said. "It's a good crowd, but I don't think it's as big as Toys 'R' Us, which opened at midnight. It's fun ... I love Christmas. I love Christmas shopping. I'm a Christmas person."
Thousands of people lined up at Orchard Hill Park stores for Black Friday -- the official start of the holiday shopping season -- and they huddled with friends in anticipation of the doors opening.
A line of shoppers stretched around the Best Buy store.
Josh Raymond, 19, of Templeton, was first in line at Target, and had camped out starting at 9:30 p.m. with the goal of getting a 32-inch LCD television, but he said, "I don't think I fell asleep at all."
Prior to the
store's opening, employees went outside to ask shoppers to walk in calmly, and directed them all in the same initial direction.
Raymond led the way into the store, as Target employees handed off shopping carts to power-walking customers, who poured through the entrance steadily -- most walked or jogged toward the back of the store and the electronics department.
Big box retailers advertised deals on electronics, toys and clothing for the early birds, and many North Central Massachusetts residents waited overnight in line for the chance to grab a limited supply of marked-down plasma televisions, laptop computers, video games, GPS devices and digital cameras.
Managers at the Mall at Whitney Field said they had a booming morning, which continued into the afternoon Friday, according to Elizabeth D. Kelley, the mall's vice president and general manager.
"Every indication is that things are going better than last year, which is good," Kelley said.
The improvement in Black Friday volume is a good indicator for the holiday season, Kelley said.
"We hope it keeps going," she said.
Alan Wiktorski, 47, of Westminster, picked up a new television for his family at Target -- by 5:09 a.m. all of the $246, 32-inch Westinghouse LCD televisions were sold -- and some other holiday gifts.
"We got here at 3:30 this morning and there were probably 100 people in line ahead of us," he said, adding this was his first Black Friday outing in several years. "I thought it was kind of crazy, but it actually hasn't been too bad."
Mike Geissler, 26, of Leominster, arrived at Best Buy around 3 a.m. and picked up some big-ticket items, a TV and a new cell phone, for himself on his first Black Friday shopping trip.
"You get some good deals," he said, noting he's not sure whether he'd do the early-morning shopping trip again. "If it's a good enough sale, then maybe. I thought about waiting until after Christmas, but this is supposed to be the best day to do it."
His friend, Jeff Bulger, 21, of Leominster, said he guessed many people out shopping Friday were looking for bargains out of necessity this year, because of the struggling economy.
"I'm sure people are spending less," he said. "I don't see how they couldn't."
Stephanie Gallant, 22, of Gardner, also said the economy must have played a role in Friday's deal-seeking fervor. Gallant waited with friends at the front of the Target line, and said she spend her waiting time looking through the store's ads and making a list of things to buy.
"People have no money, and they're willing to humiliate themselves or wait out in the rain all night to save money," she said.
The Friday after Thanksgiving is recognized as the biggest shopping day of the year, when retailers' sales can put business "in the black."
The National Retail Federation estimates up to 134 million people may hit the stores this weekend.
Ben Whye, 29, of Devens, said Black Friday is a tradition for him wherever he's stationed with the U.S. Marine Corps.
He got to Best Buy around 5:15 a.m., but that was well after his first stop at Toys 'R' Us at midnight, where he was looking for some specific things for his kids.
"I'll get most of my Christmas shopping today, but there's a few things I'll wait on that will go on sale later," he said.
Whye studies up on his list prior to setting out to shop, and said he wouldn't go for things like the $200 laptops that sold out at Best Buy or the inexpensive televisions at other stores.
"I do my research, I'll review the Consumer Reports on things I want to get," he said. "No way I'd do any of the computers or TVs today. They're not worth it."
Tina Wyman, 33, of Westminster, had her arms full of bags while walking through the Mall at Whitney Field with family members. Wyman started her day at Wal-Mart, around 4:15 a.m., and planned to be at work by 9 a.m., she said.
"We've gotten some pretty good deals today," she said. "I'm shopping for Christmas and myself. We do this every year. This is probably our 10th or 11th year ... It's fun, we like the crowds and the sales."
Consumers will probably do more research on sale items this year to make sure they're getting the best price, but Wyman said she doesn't think the economy will force the average shopper into spending less this holiday season.
Lucille Vautour, 54, of Gardner, agreed with Wyman, and said the family makes Black Friday a fun shopping event.
After eating Thanksgiving dinner, Vautour said, the family pours over retailers' ads to make a wish list together.
"I pretty much get all of my shopping done today," she said, around 7 a.m. Friday. "This is the best time to shop."
To see more of the Sentinel & Enterprise or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/.
Copyright (c) 2009, Sentinel and Enterprise, Fitchburg, Mass.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To Business Phone Service Community's Homepage ]
|
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Activate Email 
TMCnet LOGIN
Unlimited Extensions
