The days are blurring ”“ Thanksgiving, Gray Thursday, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The retail race is in full swing.
Some stores in the mid-Hudson Valley remained open on Thanksgiving, while many who traditionally joined in Black Friday “midnight madness” opened doors hours earlier than they had in previous years.
The North Face in Central Valley”™s Woodbury Common Premium Outlets was one of them, opening at 8:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. There were 250 people already waiting in line to get in when Devon Ward, the store”™s selling supervisor, opened the doors.
Ward declined to speculate on how much money North Face pulled in as a result of its early opening.
“Last year, we had 5,905 people by 10 a.m. on Friday. This year, we had 6,934 by the same time … so we”™re seeing more shoppers this year than last year.”
Woodbury Common is an international shopping haven, and nearly 90 percent of the shoppers HVBiz talked to were visitors from other countries. A line of nearly 100 people stood outside North Face”™s doors at noon on Saturday, with security letting people in 20 at a time. “I don”™t mind the wait here,” said one visitor from Denmark, who made the trip to buy shoes and some clothing. “North Face is pretty reasonable. In my country, taxes are 25 percent across the board, so some items are more than reasonable here, but most of the stores are just too expensive for me, even with the discounts.”
Martha Rivera of East Elmhurst said Black Friday shopping was a “ritual I don”™t participate in, but my sister comes here from Brazil for it, and so I bring her up and sit with her shopping. For her, it makes sense because she stays with my family. For people who have to rent hotels and cars to get here, I really don”™t understand it. The lines at UGG and Levi”™s were the longest. We”™ve been doing this the last three years … and it”™s not snowing, so it”™s a lot more bearable.”
The unseasonably warm weather on Black Friday weekend in southern New York, with temperatures tipping the 60-degree mark, light breezes and heavy sunshine, did make the waiting game easier.
For Xiling and Carlos Alves of Millington, N.J., getting to Woodbury Common on Black Friday morning at 9 a.m. was “relatively easy… there wasn”™t much traffic and there were a lot of people already leaving. I guess they had been here for hours before we arrived. It did take 20 minutes to find a parking spot.” The couple had one small package tucked under their child”™s stroller. “We”™re going to one other store. Most of these stores are a bit too pricey for us.”
Three other shoppers from New Jersey, Lucille Sutton and her two daughters, Daniele and Jennifer, were plotting their next strategic move. “We”™ve been coming here for ten years but we do not come on Thanksgiving Day. We are Black Friday shoppers,” Sutton said. “It”™s more for fun than the savings. Luckily the weather is great ”“ last year, it was snowing. Overall, the prices were higher, and even with coupons, there really weren”™t many true savings. As we get closer to Christmas, I think there will be many more deals and prices will be lower everywhere.”
Some employees reported their outlet stores failed to hit projected targets, and Woodbury Common”™s owner, retail giant Simon, does not release any statistics, including the number of visitors.
“Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year and the traditional start to the holiday shopping season,” said Shopper Trak founder Bill Martin in a statement. “Despite our sluggish economy, shoppers proved they are looking for value and ready to buy if given a good customer experience.
In results posted by the American Retail Federation, 226 million shoppers made the Black Friday trek nationwide; 14 million more than in 2010. According to the NRF”™s BIGresearch survey results, compiled for the period Nov. 24 through 26, more men than women (56.8 percent as opposed to 55.2 percent) participated; overall, shoppers in the 18 to 34 age bracket were the largest sector and spent most of their holiday money on clothes and electronics. This segment used smartphones and tablets to do comparison shopping and looked for deals online.
NRF reported an estimated $52.4 billion was spent nationwide, with shoppers spending an average of $398.62, up from $368.34 in 2010 and online shopping showing an uptick.
“After a historic holiday weekend, retailers know the holiday season is far from over and will continue to look for ways to excite holiday shoppers and build on the momentum we”™ve seen thus far,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay in a statement.
“Retailers continue to stretch out Black Friday weekend by enticing shoppers with door-buster deals weeks in advance,” Martin said on his company”™s website Nov. 26, “and yesterday consumers were especially bullish. Granted, the economy is still sputtering, but slight increases in the employment rate mean fewer workers fear layoffs. While consumers are still extremely value-conscious, they clearly responded to retailer price reductions and ”˜door-buster”™ promotions.”
Martin said, “This is the largest year-over-year gain in ShopperTrak”™s National Retail Sales Estimate for Black Friday since the 8.3 percent increase we saw between 2007 and 2006.”
“Still, it”™s just one day. It remains to be seen whether consumers will sustain this behavior through the holiday shopping season.”
