Black Friday Shopping Gets Earlier
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It may be more than a week away, but Jackson retailers are already gearing up for Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. They are anticipating the crowds even earlier this year. Many retailers are open at 5 a.m. on Black Friday, but this year more of them are opening as early as 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The Best Buy store on Vann Drive is opening at midnight, on Black Friday for the first time. “Consumers now are really starting earlier and earlier and most retailers realize that if you’re not opening when your competitors are, you’re at a really big strategic disadvantage,” Best Buy manager Spencer Tucker said. It’s not just Best Buy. Retailers like Walmart, Target and Toys R Us will be open even earlier too. Tucker blames the bad economy. Consumers are wanting the best deals more than ever. His said employees are prepared and added they will try to stay as organized as possible so no one gets trampled. “We allow people to come in single file and we really take care of the customers who get here first and give them the tickets for popular items that will be in our ad that comes out on Thanksgiving Day,” Tucker said. Customer Savannah German is not taking any chances. “I don’t do very well in the crowds and I don’t really want to deal with the hustle and the rushing and the fast pace of it. I like to shop at a leisurely pace,” German said. But it is good for those who do take advantage of Black Friday this year – they likely will not be waiting in line as long. According to Tucker, the hot items this year are tablets – like the iPad 2 and Kindle Fire – and flat screen TVs. He advises customers who want electronics like digital cameras or SLR cameras to get them early, because those items are scarce right now.
