Horror stories abound about shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday.
Frantic parents fighting to lay their hands on the trendy toys their little ones cannot do without. Department stores in disarray amid the influx of customers seeking the best deals on gifts. These tales herald the beginning of the holiday buying season.
Last year, shoppers spent almost $23 billion the weekend after Thanksgiving, said Scott Krugman of the National Retail Federation. More than 130 million people are expected to get a head start on shopping today, according to the federation.
National stores such as Sears, Wal-Mart and Target began preparing early in the week for shopping galore by stocking up on items they expect will be popular during the holiday season while scheduling as many workers as possible.
About 60 percent of Columbia residents will head to Columbia Mall for their shopping, according to a survey by the mall’s owners.
Target executive manager Jessica Clausen said the department store at Columbia Mall scheduled every staff member, about 150 employees.
Downtown stores are also prepared. Puckett’s, a clothing store, is holding a sale in both its men’s and women’s departments. Kathy Landers, manager of the women’s department at the family-owned store, said she expects sweaters and coats to be the most popular items at Puckett’s.
“It is always a busy day,” she said. “A fun start to the holidays.”
The National Retail Federation estimates consumers will spend almost $440 billion during the holiday season, a 6 percent increase from last year.
If standing in lines and fighting over toys, electronics and other in-demand gifts leaves you cold, shopping online is fast gaining popularity. Shoppers can browse for gifts from the comfort of their own homes, and many stores offer free shipping as an incentive.
Web sites such as keepcash.com and ecouponcodes.com provide coupon codes and inform shoppers about ongoing sales in national stores such as Radio Shack, Walgreens and Dell or online stores such as Amazon.com, Half.com and Overstock.com. Keepcash.com also provides a list of the sale prices consumers can expect on Black Friday.