Black Friday shoppers flock to malls
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Black Friday 2019, shoppers wait outside the Coach store in 2019 at Tanger Outlets for their turn to enter the store.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Mike Sanfilippo, left, completes a purchase at Tommy Hilfiger at Tanger Outlets during a Black Friday shopping trip. He and Ashley Stibrik, right, visited the outlets in search of bargains and made purchases from several stores.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Black Friday shoppers in search of bargains are pictured in 2019 at Tanger Outlets.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Susan Nicholas of Atlanta, Ga., and her son, Wolf Chezaji, 10, shopped at area malls, including Tanger Outlets, in search of Black Friday specials.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Lorna Brennen, left, and her daughter, Missy Ealy, ventured to Washington Crown Center on Black Friday, part of their long-standing shopping tradition. The pair said they found some good deals at local stores.
For Lorna Brennen and her daughter, Missy Ealy, Black Friday shopping is an annual tradition.
This Friday was no exception.
Brennen, of McKeesport, and Ealy, of West Alexander, arrived at Washington Crown Center at 7 a.m. in order to snag an Xbox One for $99 at GameStop.
“They had four left, and we got it,” said Brennen, who, along with her daughter, was decked out in Christmas sweaters and glittery red-and-green Santa hats.
The pair, accompanied by Ealy’s son, make an all-day affair of Black Friday shopping.
They usually arrive at stores between 5 and 6 a.m., hunt for doorbusters and score deals, and break for lunch and dinner.
“We close down the stores, then go to Walmart,” said Brennen. “Our husbands know not to expect us home anytime soon.”
Foot traffic at Washington Crown Center wasn’t as heavy as in recent years, which some retailers attributed to competition from online shopping and the closure of anchor stores such as Macy’s and Sears.
“It hasn’t been as busy today as it was last year, and we’ve noticed foot traffic has been down all month,” said Donni Brantley, an employee at Bath & Body Works. “All of the store closings have had an impact.”
At Tanger Outlets, though, the parking lot was overflowing with cars, with dozens parked on the grassy areas adjacent to parking spaces.
“It’s a zoo here,” said one shopper who was waiting for his wife to pick up some items at Old Navy.
At the Coach store, customers were lined up outside, with the line snaking around the building.
Employee Lindsay Hamilton stood outside, handing out coupons and then letting customers inside the store 10 at a time to reduce overcrowding.
Hamilton said the store had been busy since it opened at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
“It’s been steady all day long. Everyone’s been pleasant,” said Hamilton. “Everything’s gone pretty smoothly.”
Qua Hall of Pittsburgh visited Tanger with her niece and daughter, and said she wanted to complete a lot of Christmas shopping because there are six fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2019.
The cold but otherwise pleasant weather also drew her and other shoppers out.
According to the National Retail Federation, holiday season shoppers plan to shell out 4 percent more on Christmas presents than last year. On average, they will spend $1,047 this season.
Susan Nicholas of Atlanta, Ga., and her son, Wolf Chezaji, 10, were visiting family in Morgantown, W.Va., and trekked to South Hills Village Mall and Tanger Outlets for Black Friday deals.
“This is something we tried to avoid doing, but we ended up deciding to this,” said Nicholas, laughing.
“He’s found a lot of bargains. We got some very good deals,” Nicholas said as she pointed to her son, for whom she purchased items from Old Navy, Barnes & Noble and As Seen on TV.
Colleen Allison of Hickory said she completed much of her Christmas shopping online, but ventured to Washington Crown Center with her daughter, Allison, on Friday.
“I rarely go to the mall, but I had some time today so we headed here,” said Allison.
Online shopping is the biggest competition physical stores face.
For example, one study found 53% of shoppers plan to shop in department stores while 56% will shop online.
But shoppers like Ashley Stibrik and Mike Sanfilippo, students at Duquesne University, are drawn to Tanger Outlets for the deep discounts offered on Black Friday – 50% off merchandise all day – and because the outlet stores honor a student discount.
“We found a lot of great deals at Kate Spade, Tommy Hilfiger and Aerie,” said Stibrik. “Especially at Kate Spade, the deals were really good.”