Savvy shoppers will have more opportunities to save than ever over this year’s Black Friday, which is getting started earlier.
The day after Thanksgiving traditionally has been the one of the busiest, if not the busiest, shopping days of the year nationwide. For years it has been known as the kickoff of the holiday shopping season.
But in recent years the start of Black Friday has moved earlier and earlier.
Kmart kicks off Black Friday shopping this year by opening its doors at 6 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, a full 12 hours or more before most stores.
Best Buy and Walmart will open their doors or start their door buster sales at 6 p.m., while Silver Sands Premium Outlets, Destin Commons and Santa Rosa Mall will start opening stores at 8 p.m.
“I’m really excited about it,” said David Macdonald, the mall’s general manager. “The merchants are really going to be offering a lot of value to customers, and people are going to be able to find great merchandise at great prices.
“It’s a huge day for us,” Macdonald added. “It’s the official kickoff of the holiday season and it’s historically the day that folks begin their Christmas shopping in earnest. That’s the day everybody keys in on and it’s an important day for us.”
Macdonald said demand from the public and major retailers is behind the push to open stores earlier.
“We’re happy to turn the lights on and open the doors,” he said.
Destin Commons is one of the exceptions to the trend. Some stores, including Belk, will open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, followed by other stores opening at midnight and 3 a.m. Friday. Bass Pro Shops will open at 5 a.m. Friday.
However, the main center and the remaining stores will open at 7 a.m. Friday.
“For a lot of the smaller shops and locally owned businesses, it’s hard to justify that type of expenditure of having all of that personnel here overnight,” said Bob Perry, general manager of Destin Commons.
In years past, Black Friday has been the busiest day of the year in terms of traffic at Destin Commons, and Perry expects this year to be strong as well.
“We’re hopeful and we see signs with all of these retailers wanting to open early that indicates they’re very positive about the upcoming holiday season,” Perry said. “I think there’s still some consumer skepticism, but we’re hopeful that in this market that everybody is looking forward to a good holiday season.”
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