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Stores entice shoppers with Black Friday deals [Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Miss.](Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 25--TUPELO -- Black Friday actually started weeks ago when retailers started touting special deals to lure shoppers into the stores to get the holiday shopping buzz going. For some people, Black Friday doesn't begin until Friday morning. For others, it's at least a day earlier. "I plan to get in line right after lunch on Thanksgiving," said Brady Carson, who missed out on a special deal at Best Buy last year because he didn't get in line until about 3 a.m. on the day after Thanksgiving. "I've seen the Black Friday ad online and I know what I want." A 32-inch LCD TV for $300 and a laptop are what Carson is willing to wait for more than 16 hours in line. Some retailers have opened as early as 3 a.m on Black Friday, but this year stores are opening even earlier. Toys R Us, for example, is opening at midnight on Thanksgiving. It's flyer touts "our lowest prices ever" and "over 120 doorbusters." While many retailers have tried to hide their Black Friday deals, others have openly touted their specials. Best Buy, for example, already has its ad on its Web site. In addition to the special TV deal its offering, Best Buy has "doorbusters" on digital cameras, computers and DVDs. "We're going to have a lot of people, with the line starting to form at about mid-day on Thanksgiving," said Ken Hall, Best Buy store manager in Tupelo. Shopping season starts The Black Friday weekend officially kicks off the Christmas shopping season, and more than half of American adults will be hitting the stores. According to Consumer Reports, 28 percent of adults plan to shop in stores on Black Friday. Another 29 percent will shop on Saturday or Sunday. Of all the consumers during the three-day shopping spree, 66 percent say they'll be shopping for themselves. Whether its electronics, clothing or jewelry, stores are offering deals they hope customers will jump on. Walmart, which is opening its Tupelo stores at 5 a.m., has confirmed it will be selling a 50-inch Sanyo plasma TV for $598, a Magnavox Blu-Ray disc player for $78 and a Tom Tom GPS system for $59. The world's largest retailer also has clothing deals like $3 children's sleepwear and $7 reversible fleece jackets. At Ashley Furniture HomeStore, sofas for less than $100 have attracted Black Friday shoppers the past two years. There's nothing like that this year, but the first 50 customers who spend $500 or more get a free netbook. For under $13, J.C. Penney is selling either a slow cooker, 12-cup coffeemaker, 3-in-1 grill or griddle. Penney's also has some men's and women's winter jackets for less than $50. Belk has men's lambskin leather jackets on sale for $70 and men's pants for $19. All the deals have shoppers like Carson and his girlfriend, Jennifer Norris, in a buying mood. However, while Carson will be waiting in line at Best Buy, Norris plans to be at The Mall at Barnes Crossing. "I need some shoes and sweaters," she said. "He can have his toys." Contact Dennis Seid at (662) 678-1605 or [email protected]. To see more of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.djournal.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Miss. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |