Traditions, friendships live on for shoppers
For many in stores, Black Friday is still ‘more fun in person’
Forget online shopping. Few traditions can live up to the early mornings, long lines and hunt for deals that come with Black Friday for many Central Florida shoppers.
Despite the growing move to internet retailers — and the increase there was huge, according to early estimates — thousands of shoppers packed Orlando-area malls, department stores and other shops for Black Friday as they looked for blockbuster discounts and the perfect gifts to top off their lists.
Shoppers said the crowds were lighter than past years. But for many, the tradition won’t stop just because others are buying gifts online.
For six members of the Hancock clan, wearing matching shirts and bouncy candy cane headbands, the shopping starts on Thanksgiving and won’t stop until the night on Black Friday.
“We started at 6 p.m. [Thanksgiving] night at Walmart, Kohl’s and Target,” said Robin Watson, next to mom Pamala Hancock at the J.C. Penney at Orlando Fashion Square mall. “We didn’t stop until about 4 a.m. and then got up at 8 [a.m.] and did it again.”
The family was loading up on toys and clothes for their boys, particularly Nerf guns and DC Comics superhero action figures. There were also some purchases for themselves, they said.
“I didn’t do much online shopping because I try to do everything in stores,” said Watson, who drove from the Lake Nona neighborhood to shop with her family. “It’s more fun in person.”
They still had a long day ahead of them. Tina Blair, one of the members of their group, said they will probably be out until at least 10 p.m. shopping for deals and loading up on presents.
“I didn’t do much online shopping because I try to do everything in stores. It’s more fun in person.” Robin Watson, who drove from the Lake Nona neighborhood to shop with her family.
“We just love to do this,” Blair said. “It’s our tradition.”
At Best Buy in Altamonte Springs, customers loaded up on deeply discounted flat-screen televisions, laptops, tablets, video-game consoles and software.
At Lowe’s in Fern Park, the hottest-selling items were 50-cent poinsettias and tools.
Macy’s customers at Orlando Fashion Square were buying pajamas and holiday shirts.
Watson noticed that stores had strengthened toy offerings after Toys R Us went bankrupt and liquidated earlier this year.
More retailers matched their in-store deals with sales through websites.
Online sales on Thanksgiving alone hit $3.7 billion on Thursday, according to sales figures tracked by Adobe Digital Insights. It was a 28 percent increase over online sales in 2017, figures that would surely cut into in-store revenues.
Friday sales were also on track to break records, while internet retailers were gearing up for four more days of heavy traffic through Cyber Monday, when people return to work and tend to shop at the same time.
“Shoppers are already capitalizing on Black Friday discounts online in the early hours of the morning, gearing up for a record Black Friday we expect to match last year’s Cyber Monday,” said Adobe Digital Insights director Taylor Schreiner.
Still, brick-and-mortar sales aren’t going anywhere as shoppers continue to drive to malls and big-box stores in search of holiday deals.
Apopka’s Brittany Green did most of her shopping online before Thanksgiving even arrived but still found herself at the Kohl’s store in Altamonte Springs.
“I had a coupon for $10, so here I am,” she said.
Green has four children — the youngest is a newborn, the eldest is 6. She hunted for the best deals in the weeks leading up to Black Friday, and said she found she could usually find matching or better prices. She also shopped only on websites that would offer free shipping.
Altamonte Springs’ Julie Boness started at Home Depot at 5 a.m. to buy poinsettias and Christmas wreaths, then met up with friend Elaine Huffman at Kohl’s.
“I don’t do anything online because I love the social aspect of shopping,” Boness said. “And it gives you a reason to spend time with your best friend.”