Value-minded on Black Friday
Shoppers hustle for markdowns, as economic uncertainty lingers
Saturday, November 28, 20091
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HADLEY - Sales expectations were low, at least according to one retail group, but shoppers still mobbed the Hampshire Mall in the wee hours of what's come to be known as Black Friday.
One big draw this year was a certain high-definition television, on sale for $246 at Target in the Hampshire Mall in Hadley. Joselyn and Amanda Koldy of Sunderland arrived early enough - 3:30 a.m. - to bag three of them.
The TVs secured, the mother and daughter took a breakfast break, then got back to shopping. At about 1 p.m., they were getting ready to call it a day.
Browsing in Dick's Sporting Goods, each was lugging a couple of shopping bags, containing items like bedsheets and a toaster oven. Amanda Koldy couldn't resist picking up all 10 seasons of "Friends" on DVD - like everything else she'd purchased Friday, the sitcom was on sale.
Asked if the economic recession had any bearing on her shopping decisions, Joselyn Koldy laughed.
"Not yet," she said. "It might the closer we get to Christmas."
Although the numbers weren't available Friday, early reports from retailers around the U.S. indicated bigger day-after-Thanksgiving crowds than last year. In Framingham in eastern Massachusetts, shoppers started lining up outside a Best Buy at 4 p.m. Thanksgiving Day - 13 hours before doors opened.
Nationally, mall operators reported shoppers picking up practical items that were deeply discounted, and paying with cash and debit cards instead of credit.
Walmart.com, Amazon.com and other online retailers also grabbed for a piece of the action, pushing deals on Thursday and even earlier in the week. Several large retailers around the country even opened on Thanksgiving Day.
Meanwhile, the Retailers Association of Massachusetts had forecast a 3 percent drop in holiday sales from a year ago. Association vice president Bill Rennie said many stores had cut back on inventory and temporary employees in response to the recession.
At Target in Hadley, Sarah Cartel of Amherst was after one of those hi-def TVs, too, but didn't get one. She arrived just a half-hour later than the Koldys.
After taking a little breather at home, Cartel came back to the mall and got a different, slightly more expensive TV at Best Buy. In the afternoon she was in Target picking out toys with her 3-year-old daughter Kiera.
"This is my first Black Friday. I was expecting pushing and shoving," she said, but didn't see any.
Also checking out high-end TVs at the mall Friday were Belchertown residents Patience and Andrew Hartley - but they weren't among those who rushed out before dawn to do it.
Both University of Massachusetts employees - Patience works at health services, Andrew in maintenance at the Fine Arts Center - they both completed Friday morning shifts before heading over to Best Buy in the afternoon.
Standing between two rows of big-screen TVs, the Hartleys were in a quandary. Should they buy now, or would there be better deals next year?
Married a year ago in September, the couple are considering buying a home in Orange, whose current owners are in pre-foreclosure. With home prices depressed, they count the lousy economy almost as a blessing. Incidentally, the Hartlys were on their honeymoon in the Bahamas when the stock market took a nosedive last year.
When it comes to holiday gifts for themselves and others, they're being thrifty.
"We're already in the phase of being careful what we buy and being selective with our purchases," Patience said.
For instance, Patience said rather than buying her mother lots of little trinkets, she got her one useful item, a GPS device for her car. And for the extended family, rather than buying individual gifts for every brother, sister, niece and nephew, they've picked out a single gift for each household.
Black Friday got even blacker last year when a horde of shoppers on Long Island trampled to death a temp worker at their local Wal-Mart.
Cognizant of that tragedy, Hampshire Mall management this year suggested ways for their tenant shops to keep the shopping civilized, including having the bigger retailers open early to let the masses in out of the rain.
The mall itself opened at 4 a.m. Friday, with customers lining up clear from the entrance by Target and Best Buy to the food court. Shop employees worked the lines, handing out vouchers to shoppers who knew what they were looking for.
"That avoided that mad rush," said Hampshire Mall marketing director Heather Salerno.
Last year at this time the mall was in the middle of renovations, with lots of shops empty, and so Black Friday wasn't a big deal. Salerno said the mall's new floors and decorations helped make it more inviting this time around.
"Every tenant that I've spoken to has done better than last year in both traffic and sales," Salerno said about midday. By then, the pace of shopping inside the mall was anything but frantic, and there was no trouble finding a parking space outside.
While Black Friday business seemed healthy at Hadley's big-box stores, it was more of a mixed bag at Thornes Marketplace in downtown Northampton. The big holiday shopping day at Thornes and elsewhere downtown is usually Bag Day, which comes earlier in November.
Jessica Lacaprucia, makeup counter manager at Cedar Chest, said she was surprised by the volume of shoppers Friday. "We were expecting somewhat of a quiet morning," Lacaprucia said. "We thought most people would be at the bigger malls. Luckily for us Northampton is into shopping locally."
Food vendors at Thornes were doing a brisk business, though few of the people waiting in line or snacking at tables had shopping bags with them.
At Glimpse of Tibet, jewelry counter worker Dolma Phurbu had this to say: "It's been busy, but not much business."
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. James F. Lowe can be reached at jlowe@gazettenet.com.
