Quiet is the new black
Thanksgiving deals, online sales take frenzy out of post-holiday shopping tradition
Arizona shoppers who hit the stores on Black Friday reported smaller crowds than in years past, perhaps a reflection of retailers offering deals throughout the month rather than on just one day.
Many families and friends still got out as part of their post-Thanksgiving tradition, making a day of it with trips to restaurants or the movie theater.
But the manic rush for deals has been subdued a bit by expanded sales and by retailers who manage crowds better by policing lines and offering vouchers for
those who arrive first, to guarantee they get the products they came for without a brawl.
Gisele Norberg, 50, was camped outside the entrance to a Soma Intimates at Arrowhead Towne Center in Glendale at 5:15 a.m. Friday. She was second in line and hoping to purchase pajamas on sale. Black Friday has been a tradition for her and her teenage son, who insisted they go to the mall nearly a decade ago “so he could get up really early and go to Starbucks.”
Norberg noticed the parking lot was empty when she arrived. She said sales on Thanksgiving have driven away a lot of the excitement and crowds on Black Friday. The scent of warm pretzels filled the halls as potential buyers trickled in throughout the morning.
Norberg said she prefers to wait until Friday.
“I don’t like it on Thursday — you cook all day, eat and then want to go to bed,” she said. “It doesn’t really feel like Black Friday anymore. It’s not as much fun.”
Another reason shopping crowds might not have seemed as frantic Friday was the transition to online sales, particularly mobile purchases, officials said.
As of 10 a.m. Friday, online spending nationwide was estimated to be $640 million, an 18 percent jump from last year, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks online transactions. Mobile purchases set a record high, with more than 61 percent of retail site visits coming from smartphones and tablets. That followed $2.87 billion spent online Thursday, according to Adobe; that, too, was an 18 percent jump from last year.
Many shoppers didn’t even wait that long. The $33 billion spent online Nov. 1-23 was up 18 percent from last year as well, Adobe reported.
But many prefer to get out in person for the day.
Surrounded by racks of comfy sweaters and professional attire, Keri Crafton, 41, clutched five garments on her way to a dressing room at a J.C. Penney. Her mother and two of her sisters joined her for the annual family shopping tradition. This year, they’re laser-focused on clothes, as many of their children are teenagers no longer vying for toys.
Crafton, of Waddell, arrived at Arrowhead Towne Center after stopping at Walmart. She said that though she’s shopping for others, she stops for sales she might enjoy as well. “This is our second trip. My arms were getting too full, so we dropped them off at the car,” she said, shifting the weight of the new clothes.
One of her other sisters refuses to go shopping on Black Friday.
“She’s sending us ideas of what she wants, though,” Crafton said. “She just doesn’t like to shop herself.”
The parking lot of Tempe Marketplace was not busy first thing Friday morning. Angie Price, 28, woke up at 5 a.m. to shop with her mother. Target opened at 6 a.m., and Price said she and her mom had no problem walking right in.
“We didn’t have any big plans, just searching for deals,” Price said. “We were thinking it would be busier.”
Some shoppers got an early start by taking advantage of stores that opened Thursday. People crowded outside a Scottsdale Best Buy on Thanksgiving were greeted by a bouncer with an earpiece who managed the line and offered entry every few minutes.
Shoppers snapped up $200 PlayStations and $20 printers as Christmas music played over the speakers. The first customers moved toward the checkout lane after only a few minutes. More people took their place in the aisles.
Seven minutes after the store opened, a woman dressed in all black walked up. She stopped when she saw the line that snaked over itself in three sharp curves. “Oh, man,” she said, pulling off her sunglasses. She checked her phone, and then moved to the back of the line anyway. “We’ll see. They can’t all want TVs, right?”
But the crowd kept growing. Most people came in teams, high-fiving when one of them found the right laptop or a good deal on headphones.
CityScape in downtown Phoenix was bustling Friday with brunchgoers looking for an alternative to the mall madness. About 30 vendors set up displays of their wares, vintage threads and art as musicians performed and shoppers guzzled mimosas inside the free event.
“There’s more authentic intentions here,” said 30-year-old Jason Keam of Long Beach, California. “This is more my pace.”
Keam was driving around downtown and came across the packed plaza. He was drawn to humorous Budweiser Tshirts and baseball caps at one booth.
About 100 people shuffled through the aisles at the outdoor market. Changing rooms were available inside tents to try on groovy must-have frocks.
Whitney Perkins, 27, came from Tempe after seeing a post about Phoenix General boutique’s “Alternative Black Friday” event from Redheaded Sadie Vintage on Instagram. She said she avoids typical Black Friday fare. “I immediately threw out every ad in my mailbox,” she said. “The way the advertisements put a limit on goods makes it a forced frenzy. It creates an all-out-foryourself mentality.”
Organizer Kenny Barrett, the co-owner of Phoenix General in midtown Phoenix, said the event was curated with the intention of showing sustainable, handmade goods, along with vintage clothes.
“It’s been exciting. It feels totally free and has been a good spot for unique and local gifts,” Barrett said. “How much more enjoyable is this than fighting people to get a new Crock-Pot?”