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Black Friday shoppers increase from last year
Bleary-eyed shoppers – some still wearing pajamas – flooded stores and shopping centers Nov. 28 on the unofficial start to what is expected to be a slower-than-normal holiday shopping season.
"It's tradition for mom to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving while everyone else is asleep at home," Madelyn Lamb said, resting beside a cluster of bags at Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets early Friday. Lamb, of New Jersey, was visiting family in Loudoun.
With many retailers offering steep discounts, 172 million Americans visited stores and e-commerce Web sites over the Black Friday weekend, up from 147 million shoppers last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
Shoppers spent an average of $372.57, an increase of 7.2 percent from a year ago. Total spending reached an estimated $41 billion.
Despite the strong start, however, the National Retail Federation still expects consumers to spend an average of $832 on holiday shopping this year, up only 1.9 percent from last year’s $816. This represents the lowest increase in planned spending since the trade group began surveying consumers in 2002.
Opening before sunrise was the order of the day throughout the area Friday as retailers bent over backward to accommodate eager shoppers, no matter the time of the day.
The 110-store Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets got the shopping day rolling locally when it opened to customers at midnight, while department stores like JCPenney and Kohl's followed suit at 4 a.m.
"Roll out of bed, brush your teeth and out the door," said one Dulles Town Center shopper who did not want to give her name. "It's tradition."
Knowing the importance of a strong holiday season to retailers, Jackie Young, marketing director for Dulles Town Center, said the mall undertook an “aggressive” advertising campaign this year that featured a presence online, in print and on television to entice shoppers to come to the mall. It's also partnering with a local radio station to give away $1,000 shopping sprees throughout the season.
"The fourth quarter is always very important to us," Young said early Friday. "Since this is my first year here, I can't compare it to previous years, but we're very pleased by the turnout this early in the morning."
Resting on a bench outside the JCPenney at Dulles Town Center, Tisa Smith, whose day began at 5 a.m. at a nearby Toys “R” Us, said she had no intention of cutting back her spending this year despite the souring economy. Still, she noticed, "the mall does not seem as crowded" as she had expected.
Back at the Leesburg Outlets, New York's Bob Triggs, who was waiting for his daughter to return from a nearby store, also said he did not plan to reduce his spending this year. However, "if I still had small kids, I might change my shopping habits," he said.
Eyeing the bevy of shoppers making their way past the bench he was resting on, he added in an exhausted tone: "I'm done. I'd rather shop online. You beat the crowds and the traffic."
Contact the reporter at jjacks@timespapers.com
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