Black Friday: Green for retailers
Retailers were swamped with Black Friday crowds after an unprecedented day of shopping on Thanksgiving.
On what's traditionally been the biggest shopping day of the year, millions of consumers flocked to stores and retail websites.
Through late afternoon, online sales were up 8% over Black Friday 2013. Thanksgiving Day website sales jumped 14.3% over 2013, according to IBM Digital Analytics. Sales and traffic were driven by mobile phones and tablet use, which accounted for 46% of all Black Friday online traffic.
Walmart racked up more than 500 million Thanksgiving page views, surpassed only by the retailer's Cyber Monday traffic last year. ChannelAdvisor, which tracks retail data, said Amazon also was a big winner, with sales up 26% from last year. Electronics retailer Best Buy's website crashed for about an hour Friday morning due to a "concentrated spike in mobile traffic,'' said spokesman Jeff Shelman.
There were scattered protests calling for shopping boycotts to show solidarity with ongoing protests around Ferguson, Mo., where rioting took place earlier this week following a grand jury's decision not to indict cop Darren Wilson for the August shooting death of black teen Michael Brown. Walmart workers also held protests outside scores of stores around the country, the latest effort to prompt the retailer to hire more full-time employees and boost hourly wages to $15.
In New York City's Times Square Toys R Us, President Hank Mullany said morning shoppers were leaving the store with "bags and bags full of toys.'' At Target, CEO Brian Cornell said shoppers snapped up many items beyond the doorbusters that may have lured them in, including apparel and home goods.
"I was very encouraged by the fact that they took time to shop," said Cornell, who became CEO in August. "Early on it's a very positive signal."
Target had record online shoppers Thursday, driven in part by free holiday shipping. "We're seeing visits to the site way up, and we're seeing conversion rates very strong,'' he said.
Cornell expects a deal for 10% off up to $300 in Target gift cards to be a big traffic driver Friday and the rest of the holiday season.
Shoppers line up for big discounts
Some early shoppers had already missed out, however. At a Target in suburban Mission, Kan., Bridget McNabb had hoped to score a $119 TV. But McNabb was told the store had sold out shortly after it opened Thanksgiving evening.
At Denver's upscale Cherry Creek Mall, sisters Isabelle and Remy Lebel were among the first to enter H&M. They'd taken turns staking out a spot before 6 a.m.
"It's my first year," said Isabelle, 13. "We begged our mom to take us."
They were rewarded for arriving early. H&M gave both a scratch-off card for $300 off their purchases.
"Even if the deals aren't that good, it's fun," said Remy, 15. "I'll get a lot of Christmas presents."
Friends Molly Magee and Tracie Brady plotted out their mall strategy with a map before hitting The Buckle, Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom.
Brady, who recently moved to Denver from Arkansas, said she's avoided malls and Black Friday madness for a decade. The two were lured to Cherry Creek by big discounts at stores such as Urban Outfitters, and Brady ultimately bought clothes as presents for her two daughters.
Brady said the big crowds of years past turned her off from Black Friday, but a news report saying crowds had diminished because so many people were either shopping online or on Thanksgiving ended her self-imposed boycott.
Shoppers elsewhere were also angling for deals. About 10 people were lined up outside Sports Authority in Alexandria, Va., before its 6 a.m. opening. As soon as the doors opened, more shoppers poured out of their cars to head inside for the door-buster deals.
Jaime Ramos, 60, of Mount Vernon, Va., sought a weight bench. "The one I am looking for usually costs $300 or $400," he says.
Last year, Ramos came on Thanksgiving night, when Sports Authority opened at 11 p.m. Compared with that, he says he is surprised at how few people were in line today.
"There were at least 100 people last year," he said. "I wanted to avoid the crowds, and I figured it would be much busier on Thanksgiving, so I came today."
At the Chandler Fashion Center in suburban Phoenix, thousands of shoppers crowded in at 2 a.m., in part, lured by heartthrob actor Keegan Allen of ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars, who signed autographs and promoted his upcoming photo book life.love.beauty.
"It's great to see how the economy is doing and to see everyone shopping. I am happy to see that," Allen said before facing screaming fans. "It's nice to meet all the fans and connect with them."
Standing in line with a parent were Sara Fitzgerald, 14, and Callie Young, 13, both from nearby Peoria. The two friends stood in line for five hours just to receive an autographed photo.
"It was so amazing," said Fitzgerald, who brought her acoustic guitar and a song she wrote for Allen. Young was still gushing over the brief meet-and-greet with the actor. "He is my sunshine," Young said.
John Meza and Inez Ortiz of Avondale, Ariz., who were holding bags from Macy's, Disney Store and Game Stop, were taking in the experience.
"This is our first time coming out," Ortiz said. "We came just for the Black Friday experience."
Customers sleep in cars, make 2 trips in one day
Holiday shoppers in Des Moines — like other parts of the nation — braved the cold to score deals.
About 60 people lined up outside of Scheels All Sports at Jordan Creek Town Center just before 5 a.m. The sporting goods store was closed Thursday.
Headlights lit up the Scheels parking lot as motors ran, warming those who were looking at coupons. Some shoppers, like Barb Hammen, slept in their cars before starting another shopping spree. Hammen and her daughters, of Rockwell City, said they parked near Scheels at 2:30 a.m. after doing some shopping elsewhere on Thanksgiving.
"I have seven grandchildren, so we do all of our Christmas shopping on Black Friday, and we don't go home until it's done," Hammen said. "We have our second wind now."
In St. Cloud, Minn., some Crossroad Center stores were the scene of hard-core shopping.
"I started at 4 o'clock yesterday with my mom and then came back with a bunch of my friends at midnight," said 15-year-old Brooke Arvidson, who gathered with four other teens near the Caribou Coffee stand outside J.C. Penney. "I'm probably going on about two hours' sleep, but it's fun."
Jessie Kirsch and Matthew Dingman of St. Joseph shopped from midnight to 1:30 a.m., then returned four hours later. "The deals are what you're after," Kirsch said. "If I can spend $75 and save $135, that's almost like getting paid to shop. And I'm about 80% done with my Christmas shopping."
In Prattville, Ala., 1,500 customers were lined up for Bass Pros Shops' 5 a.m. opening.
"So far Black Friday is off to a great start," said store manager Eric Alford. "We were able to get the customers in quickly, there were no problems. Everybody seems to be in a good mood."
The first customers, Jeremy Driver and Stan McQuin, stood in line for five hours.
"We're here after the .22s," Driver said, speaking of the 500-round "bricks" of .22-caliber long-rifle ammunition that were advertised.
The friends had gone hunting at 4:30 a.m. Thanksgiving, and hadn't slept since.
So what were the plans after shopping was done?
"Go get some breakfast; then we go to bed," McQuin said.
Bargains also drove K.C. Chambers to the Edison Mall Kohl's store in Fort Myers, Fla., by 6 a.m. "They have 15% off everything, and they have stuff I want to give as gifts," said Chambers, 17.
In New Jersey, Keri Szewczyk, 18, of Barnegat, hit outlet stores early Friday with her aunt, Laura Cornish, 51, and uncle, Keith Cornish, 44, both of Middletown. They rolled out of bed at 4:30 a.m. They spent about $400, mostly for clothing and shoes at Banana Republic, Bass and Cole Haan.
"It's tradition; we've come here for years now," Szewczyk said. "Once (I) got into high school, we just kind of wanted to see what the hustle about Black Friday was about, but we never wanted to wait on the long lines at like 12 in the morning, so we've always gone at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. This year we went later."
The trio planned to spend another $350 and shop at Coach before calling it a day.
"Pretty good so far," Szewczyk said. "I'm satisfied."
This year, the template for holiday trophies might be the big-screen TV. Mississippi resident Michael Vernon missed out of an early morning deal at a Flowood Best Buy. "They said they were out of televisions," Vernon said. "They didn't know when they were going to have more."
But early Vermont risers Tom Cummings of Jericho and Eddie Montgomery of Colchester each scored 50-inch sets at the Williston Walmart. "It was crazy as always in there," Montgomery said. The pursuit of his $200 prize, from start to finish, took about 2½ hours.
Beer was also in demand at Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery, where some thirsty Pilgrims waited overnight for limited edition Imperial Stout. About 800 were in line at 8 a.m., despite snow and 15-degree temperatures. Lakefront sold out 5,000 bottles at $15 each in less than four hours.
Owner Russ Klisch says Black Friday is the brewery's biggest day of the year.
Contributing: Gary Strauss, David Lim, Matthew Patane, the Des Moines Register; Sue Doerfler and Angelique Soenarie, The ArizonaRepublic; Joel Banner Baird, the Burlington Free Press; Jeff Ayres, the Clarion-Ledger; Kevin Allenspach, the St. Cloud Times; Anthony Panissidi, the Ashbury Park Press, Marty Roney, the Montgomery Advertiser; Tim Engstrom, the Fort Myers News-Press; Associated Press.