Black Friday draws large crowd for beginning of holiday shopping season

JACKSON, Tenn. —  It’s the day after Thanksgiving, meaning people all over the country are hitting the stores and websites for those Black Friday bargains.

“I’m ready to get in there. It’s cold,” one shopper said.

Friday was the first time for Academy Sports and Outdoors in Jackson to participate in the national holiday. They were welcomed with quite a crowd. Some shoppers said they waited hours for the store’s opening.

“Yesterday about 9 o’clock p.m., so we’ve done an all-nighter,” Black Friday shopper Tonya Lutz said.

While the crowd waited in line, staff handed out breakfast snacks.

The Academy sales team gathered for a group meeting before opening the doors.

“There’s a lot that goes on and a lot of moving parts that go into this whole day and the whole weekend as a matter of fact,” store director Shaun Kehe said.

Academy employees said the big deals are items for the kids like ride-on vehicles, trampolines and hover boards.

Some early bird shoppers are used to the holiday rush.

“It’s become a yearly tradition,” Jeremy Bartholomew said. “Me, a friend of mine and our two wives, we start on Thursday night and we stay out until about 4 or 5 the next night.”.

Although there are some sweet deals, some Black Friday shoppers said it means much more than that.

“We just enjoy the fellowship and having fun seeing different people,” Bartholomew said.

“Just a bustle of fun, just having fun with my sisters and just the Christmas holiday season, the spirit of it all,” Lutz said.

If you haven’t had a chance to get out and shop, Academy Sports and Outdoors closes at 11 p.m. Friday and will re-open at 8 a.m. Saturday.