Shoppers seek Black Friday deals

By RICHARD JENKINS

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With the turkey eaten and slept off, area shoppers turned to the annual search for deals known as Black Friday.

Some Walmart shoppers told the Daily Globe they had just gone out for a grocery item or two, but were taking the opportunity to explore the electronics department and other parts of the store.

Other shoppers went out with the goal of Christmas shopping.

Patricia Mattila, who lives in Tennessee, made sure to stop while visiting relatives in Wakefield.

Mattila, with a cart full of purchases Friday, said she also went out shopping Thursday night.

"We were here last night ... taking advantage of the sales, trying to see what they had out," Mattila said, adding that Thursday night's experience went relatively smoothly.

She said even with the two days of shopping she still had more Christmas gifts to buy.

At the Tractor Supply in Ironwood, Ironwood Township residents Sue Gardner and Mary Burgmeier were also getting a start on Christmas shopping, including browsing the store's collection of dog toys for the canine relatives.

Gardener said they were just getting started on the shopping Friday afternoon, and both agreed they preferred to avoid the rush associated with the early morning Friday deals - especially as the start times have gotten earlier and earlier, even bleeding into Thursday night.

"(I'm) not a big fan of (the Black Friday sales)," Gardner said. "Especially the ones that start on Thanksgiving."

Gardner still had all of her Christmas shopping ahead of her Friday, saying she was, "Just starting to think about it."

This weekend is crucial to set the tone for the holiday season, the Associated Press reports. Around 137 million people plan to or are considering doing their shopping during the Thanksgiving weekend, according to a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation trade group. That includes online and store shopping. The Black Friday mentality and marketing approach has even crossed the Atlantic and is shaping shopping habits in much of Britain. Many big box stores opened early Friday morning, while others focused on cutting online prices or combining the two. Some Swiss stores that have started offering American-style "Black Friday" discounts online have seen their sites freeze, slow down or crash under a surge in traffic.

With the competition for customers so intense, many stores were open Thursday evening in what they hope will be a new holiday tradition. Retailers have also been spreading deals out more throughout the week, which may have diluted the shopping, the AP reports. "It was a really good start. But I have never seen Black Friday morning so calm," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group, a market research firm, who visited malls on Long Island on Friday. He believes the weekend's sales will likely rise from last year because shoppers did lots of buying, including pricey flat-screen TVs.

The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, expects holiday sales to rise 3.6 percent to $655.8 billion for November and December, better than the 3 percent growth seen for those months last year. That excludes car sales, gas and restaurant receipts, but includes online spending and other non-store sales such as catalog spending. Online sales are expected to be up 7 percent to 10 percent to as much as $117 billion, compared to a 9 percent growth rate last year. That means that online sales could account for 18 percent of overall holiday sales.

Major chain stores weren't the only ones seeing an increase in customers Friday, several smaller stores across the Gogebic Range reported higher sales traffic.

Bob Abelman, president of Abelman Clothing, Bessemer, said his story was consistently busy all of Friday.

"(The shoppers) started pretty much at 9 a.m.," Abelman said. "We are very happy with the way it's going. I think it's busier than last year."

Sophie Korhonen and Alysia Freese, who work at Book World, in Ironwood, agreed they had seen more shoppers. "I think it's been pretty busy today," Korhonen said, joking the people always seem to come at the same time. "We're having a good day."

They said there have already been holiday shoppers at the store, including themselves.

Editor's Note: The Associated Press contributed to this story.