Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

The sales force

The allure of discounts trumps the hassles of fighting crowds as Black Friday shoppers charge forth.

By MARK ALBRIGHT, Times Staff Writer
Published November 24, 2007

Spenser Wilkinson, front left, runs arm and arm with new friend Christi Cooksey after the doors to Target in Spring Hill opened at 6 a.m. Friday. The road to hell to reach shopper heaven Photo gallery: Black Friday
	[Times photo: Keri Wiginton]

A Black Friday regular, Lois McKee becomes a heating-seeking missile for doorbuster sales. This year, however, she and other vets changed tactics. Forget lining up at 5 a.m. at one store for deals. She pulled an all-nighter.

She steered a 10-passenger van to Prime Outlets Ellenton at 10:30 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. When the six kids with her pooped out at 3 a.m., she took them home to St. Petersburg for bed. Then she caught a few winks in a parking lot waiting for Wal-Mart to open at 5 a.m. Next came Staples and finally home again where she scoured jcppenney.com online for a $39 quesadilla maker that was half-price until 1 p.m.

"I'm glad we left for Ellenton early because some friends got stuck in traffic an hour there and had to turn back," said the middle school guidance counselor before frantically heading out for Tyrone Square Mall at 8:30 a.m. "I couldn't find that quesadilla maker online."

Spurred by such deeper-than-usual price cutting, Tampa Bay shoppers flooded local malls and discount stores all night and into the afternoon Friday, the traditional start for the holiday shopping season.

Whether Friday's discount-induced buying binge will last remains the big question as merchants fret a weakening economy will slow down their tepid forecast for a 3 percent retail sales gain in Florida.

"We've all got our fingers crossed," said Rick McAllister, president of the Florida Retail Federation. His worry? That the housing slump, deteriorating dollar and subprime mortgage crisis will keep the Sunshine State from doing even as well as the national forecast of a modest 4 percent gain in general merchandise sales to $474.5-billion. That would be the worst holiday season nationally in five years.

There was little sign shoppers were holding back Friday. In fact, Black Friday - so named for the first day retailers typically become profitable for whole year - is rarely the biggest shopping day of the year. But some experts predict it may be this year, because Hanukkah comes early and Christmas lands on a Tuesday. That means the big finish will be spread over four days.

With retailers opening earlier than ever this year at staggered times, shoppers like McKee had plenty of bleary-eyed company shopping the night away.

Tyrone

At 4 a.m. the streets around Tyrone were as busy as a weekday when JCPenney and Kohl's opened. By 5 a.m. people who camped out three nights at Best Buy to get cut-rate computer deals complained of people crowding in line and snapping up as many extras as the electronics chain would sell them - just to unload on eBay. By 6:30 a.m. the checkout lines at Toys "R" Ussnaked around the gridlocked store so much that people who thought they were in line were not.

"I've never seen so many 60 percent off sales," said Kimberly Webb, a 32-year-old mother of four, closing a trunk full of toys. "We're going to be done today."

Shopper spending took on the split personality of the local economy.

Silvia Haeussler, 42, of Tampa was happy that deep discounts on a Crock-Pot, coffeemaker and sewing machine will help her keep a lid on spending.

"I bought a house last year and my husband lost his job six months ago," she said.

Greg Groksi, a 24-year-old Tampa resident with a pharmaceutical industry job, figured he spent $5,000 Friday as two Circuit City workers wedged a 52-inch Sharp Aquos TV into his VW Beetle.

The holidays are huge for retailers. Many get a third of their annual sales and up to half their profits in last two months of the year. With retail sales spotty all year, many economists see the health of holiday spending as the harbinger of whether the economy holds its own or sinks into a recession.

Sales data won't be available for a week. But there were plenty of signs consumers are not ready to holster their credit cards.

"Normally there is a lull after the first wave of doorbuster sales people leave," said Taylor Clifton, Westfield Citrus Park marketing director. "Today it was a steady flow that just continued to build all morning."

Westfield Countryside

At Westfield Countryside mall, the only parking spaces left by midmorning were tucked in a remote corner. While there were plenty of spaces at International Plaza by noon, that was because the mall rented a parking lot a mile away and offered a shuttle for 1,000 mall workers.

Early crowds were big enough to persuade two-dozen Citrus Park stores scheduled to open at 7 a.m. to open their doors a half hour early. Mall officials expected upwards of 80,000 shoppers Friday. Brookstone even extended Black Friday pricing through the weekend on several half-priced items including a $79.99 iPod speaker set and a $39.95 digital photo kit.

"We figured strike while the iron is hot," said store manager Sarah Vogel. "We really won't know if people are going to be willing to spend more this year for a couple weeks."

Indeed, getting the sale before a competitor is a retailer's basic strategy this year.

CompUSA opened at 9 p.m. Thursday and offered slices of 25 pumpkin pies to those who missed dessert at home. Sam's Club served continental breakfast. And for the first time, Tyrone mall will open at 6 a.m. Saturday, the same time as Black Friday.

"The gloves are off and stores are using every weapon they can to reach consumers," said John Morris, a retail analyst with Wachovia Securities.

"People are cheaping out and sticking with essentials," said Bill Dreher, who follows retail stocks for Deutsche Bank.

Many chains tried new ways to prod shoppers to commit to a sale on Thanksgiving Day, a day when once only Kmart, Wal-Mart Supercenters and drugstores were open.

Wal-Mart promoted a different collection of "secret" unadvertised discounts online Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with pickup of purchases in a store. Toys "R" Us posted a similar online ad on 101 toys. Sears promoted deals online Thanksgiving Day at sale prices for merchandise that could be picked up as early as 4 a.m. Friday in the closest store.

"We had several shoppers pick up purchased merchandise at 4 a.m., then they went on to doorbuster sales at other stores," said Carlos Arguello, Sears store manager in St. Petersburg.

Malls have also spruced up their gift cards. Westfield and Simon Property Group malls added a nice gift box for their Visa gift cards. International Plaza offered $100 spa gift certificates to the first 100 to purchase at least $500 in gift cards. A Tampa law firm walked off with more than half of the spa treatments by forking over $30,000.

Times staff writers Asjylyn Loder and Madhusmita Bora contributed to this report, which also contains information from the New York Times. Mark Albright can be reached at albright@sptimes.com or 727 893-8252.

Adam Massey, Dover

Massey, 19, and friends went to Target and Kohl's before shopping at International Plaza. He found a gift for his sister, but mainly shopped for himself.

Leon Bassant, Tampa

The University of South Florida engineering student started shopping at midnight Friday. "I'm buying for myself, man. Some Armani. Some Steve Madden. Just to keep myself in style."

Judy Barrows, Clearwater

Barrows, who was buying gifts for her grandchildren, started shopping about 8:30 a.m. Friday. She was surprised that the lines weren't longer at International Plaza. "There's lots of good deals."

Lani Parker, Clearwater

Parker planned to spend the day shopping with friends at International Plaza. She said she was looking for gifts for her children - and maybe something for herself.

Photo gallery See portraits and other shopping sights from Black Friday at money.tampabay.com

[Last modified November 23, 2007, 22:57:11]