This Black Friday, it was all about the steep store discount.
At the Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers, one retailer knew just how to snag in the would-be window shopper.
“The Gap had a phenomenal sale from midnight to 10 a.m. where everything was 50 percent off,” said Liz Pollack, marketing manager. “I think customers were like, ”˜OK, I”™ll get my husband a sweater, but I”™ll get myself three sweaters.”™”
That was one of the noticeable differences between this Black Friday and years past.
“I think retailers have come to terms that people are buying for themselves as opposed to buying only gifts,” she said. “They”™re taking advantage of the sales to buy for themselves. It”™s the start of winter and people are stocking up for their winter wardrobes.”
About 10 stores at the Cross County opened their doors on Thanksgiving night for the first time.
That bought retailers a head start to rack up store sales.
According to the National Retail Federation, 212 million shoppers frequented stores and store websites over the Black Friday weekend, up from the 195 million reported in its survey last year.
“It was definitely a lot more brisk than I”™ve seen it in the past two years at both properties,” said Paula Kelliher, area director of mall marketing at Simon Property Group”™s The Galleria and The Westchester in White Plains. “I saw a lot of people with a lot of bags and I generally try to do as much observing as I can. The winner at The Galleria was definitely Old Navy.”
The NRF survey reported Black Friday shoppers hit the malls earlier this year; about 9.5 percent of shoppers began at midnight this year, which tripled from the 3.3 percent last year.
“It was a mixed bag,” Kelliher said of buyer activity. “A lot of people were shopping for themselves and a lot were purchasing gifts. At The Gap, it was 50 percent off everything in the store until 10 a.m., and one woman said she was going in to buy gifts, but because things were 50 percent off, she took advantage of it to shop for herself, too.”
