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South Florida shoppers get an early start on the season
(Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, FL Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 29--Crowds swarmed South Florida stores Friday for the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, but many people, spooked by economic concerns, plan to be more frugal this year.
The mood was festive early, as diehard shoppers converged on the Sawgrass Mills outlet mall in Sunrise for a midnight opening, the mall's earliest start for Black Friday shopping.
Bargain hunters Lynde and Loxxie Dailey, of Plantation, lined up at 6:45 p.m. Thursday for a chance at a $99 digital camera from BrandsMart USA.
Lines outside the electronics retailer wrapped around the mall's perimeter, and the center's corridors were packed with 30,000 to 40,000 people by 1 a.m. Friday.
Later, at a nearby Best Buy, teacher Jaime Perris, of Miramar, was bundled in blankets with temperatures in the low 50s.
"It's a whole new adventure for me," Perris said. "I'm here for the fun of it, but I also want a laptop."
Sawgrass Mills officials said the event "far exceeded" expectations, and store managers across the region said crowds were steady throughout the day.
Still, some shoppers said centers and "big box" stores in Palm Beach and Broward counties didn't seem as busy as a year ago. Possible explanations: so-called doorbuster bargains were available on the Internet and retailers had sharply cut prices in recent weeks.
"It's a very light turnout," said Pam Ayers, 53, of Boca Raton Click here for restaurant inspection reports, who made pre-dawn trips to Wal-Mart and Target in the two-county area. "We were out last year, and it was a zoo."
November and December sales at stores open at least a year are predicted to rise 1 percent nationally, the smallest gain since 2002, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York-based trade group.
Other retail observers say this could be the worst shopping season in decades as consumers hold off spending because of the sagging economy, rising unemployment and lower limits on their credit cards.
"I'm trying to get better deals so I spend less," said Megan Johnson, 34, of Parkland, as she shopped with her two children at the Town Center mall in Boca Raton. "My husband's a contractor, and business is very slow."
Merchants call the day after Thanksgiving "Black Friday" because the shopping bonanza helps them turn a profit for the first time all year. Online retailers gear up for "Cyber Monday," when people returning to work rush to order gifts from their office computers.
But if sales Friday and during the next few days disappoint, some reeling retailers could start holding going-out-of-business sales in December, said Dan de Grandpre, founder of Dealnews.com, an Alabama company that tracks retail promotions.
"This seems to be a make-or-break weekend for many retailers," he said.
Bargain hunters spent much of their Thanksgiving Day camped outside Best Buy stores in Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach. There were no reported incidents as people waited to snap up the latest electronics gadgets.
In New York, though, the early morning race for bargains claimed the life of a Wal-Mart worker, who was trampled by unruly shoppers shortly after the Long Island store opened, police said.
Linda Spence was first in line at the Best Buy store in West Palm Beach, arriving around 9 a.m. on Thursday. She wanted to get her 13-year-old daughter an HP laptop and printer for about $372.
"This is the only way I can afford it," said Spence, 50, of Riviera Beach, who manages a party store. "The sacrifices we mothers make for our children."
Despite shoppers' economic worries, business was brisk Friday at upscale clothing boutique Just Cavalli at the Town Center mall. "We did a quarter of our expected business for this store in less than four hours," manager Fadia Baradhi said.
Jeanne Semper, of Coral Springs, bought a keyboard for $29.98, a $10 savings, at KB Toy Works. Semper said she comparison-shopped for specific items before heading out.
At Kohl's in Hollywood, a line of 200 to 300 people formed an hour before the 4 a.m. opening. The crowd sang Christmas carols before dashing in for doorbuster deals. "If you're a value-conscious customer, this is the day to shop," store manager Thomas Gebhardt said.
Still, some shoppers remained unimpressed with Black Friday sales.
Marlene Garau, 20, of Miami Lakes, said she and a friend hit the Aventura Mall but found "better than normal" discounts at only one store, Urban Outfitters.
Garau, who recently lost her job as a receptionist in a Fort Lauderdale Is your Fort Lauderdale restaurant clean? -- Click Here. salon, will be more thrifty this holiday season.
"Not a lot of people are giving gifts this year ... money is tight," she said.
Paul Owers can be reached at powers@Sunsentinel.com or 561-243-6529.
To see more of the Sun Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sun-sentinel.com/.
Copyright (c) 2008, Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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