EARLY BIRDS
Shopping traditions move to Thanksgiving Day
Peter Rodriguez, his mother, Nubia Almonte, and his aunt Ally Chisum showed up to J.C. Penney on Thursday, looking to do a little shopping.
They didn’t realize they’d be the first ones in the door.
Rodriguez, Almonte and Chisum arrived at the Penn Square Mall about 10 a.m., and to their surprise, they were first in line for the store set to open at 2 p.m.
“We knew the event was here, so we are here to participate,” Almonte said shortly before the doors opened.
Hundreds had gathered by 2 p.m., but no one would get in before the family trio. Four hours waiting on the sunny side of the mall left them in high spirits. Almonte, age 32, wanted to look at watches; Rodriguez, 13, had his eyes set on a pair of Adidas Ultra Boost tennis shoes; and Chisum, 25, was hoping to look at a chair for gaming.
Inside, store manager David Magee was preparing for yet another holiday shopping experience in his nearly three-decade career with the J.C. Penney.
“I feel really good this year because we expanded our toy selection,” Magee said.
Magee has worked for the company for 29 years, and has lived in Oklahoma since 2012, the same year the company began opening on Thanksgiving Day.
He keeps coming back every year for one reason in particular.
“Just to see the sheer excitement, to see that on the faces of those who come out to brave the crowds,” Magee said.
The first family in the doors planned to make use of some doorbuster coupons being passed out to early arrivers. Almonte, Chisum and Rodriguez didn’t plan to visit any other retailers after J.C. Penney, and wouldn’t shop the rest of the weekend they said. They were chasing the J.C. Penney discounts.
“They’re on sale, plus the coupon, so we are going to add on top of that,” Almonte said.
In a study conducted by Wallet Hub, J.C. Penney ranked second in a list of best discounts by retailer for Black Friday shopping. The survey studied advertised discounts on a variety of items in stores across the country to determine the list. Other top performers with stores in the area included Kohl’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s and more.
In addition to J.C. Penney, several shopping centers and malls were open Thursday for customers hoping to get a jump start on their Black Friday shopping, and holiday shopping in general.
The OKC Outlets opened at 6 p.m. Thursday, and stayed open all night and into Friday. The outlets will close at 10 p.m. Friday night and will begin special holiday hours at certain times through Christmas.
Penn Square Mall opened fully at 5 p.m. Giveaways of coffee and hot chocolate took place and a station for kids to meet Santa was planned.
Penn Square was open until 1 a.m. and is reopening at 6 a.m. Friday.
Shopping at the Quail Springs Mall was similar to Penn Square Mall, with J.C. Penney opening at 2 p.m. and the rest of the mall opening later. Quail Springs opened fully at 6 p.m., remained open until midnight and is reopening Friday at 6 a.m.
Outside of local malls, several popular shopping destinations included Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Best Buy. Walmart began offering Black Friday deals at 6 p.m., Dick’s Sporting Goods opened at 6 p.m. and Best Buy opened at 5 p.m.
Still others remained closed on Thanksgiving Day, but planned to open Friday.
Academy Sports + Outdoors, the Holiday Pop-Up Shops in Midtown and more would begin their holiday shopping season officially the day after Thanksgiving.