Shoppers take advantage of Black Friday door buster deals at Macy’s Herald Square on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016, in New York. (Donald Traill/AP Images for Macy’s)
HYANNIS – Black Friday shoppers were out in force early this morning in Hyannis to scoop up deals.
Many stores opened their doors just after midnight for what is still one of the busiest days of the year, even as the start of the holiday season edges ever earlier.
At the Best Buy in Hyannis at the Cape Cod Mall, hundreds were lined up early from big bargains on everything from televisions to video games and headphones.
“The first minute I had probably 100 people rush toward me right in the middle. It was pretty busy,” said Kyle, a clerk at the Best Buy in the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis.
Many stores are offering the same deals as in previous years, like $19.99 boots that remain a big attraction, cashmere sweaters, and sheets. For some shoppers, big discounts on electronics are the draw.
“A lot of people are coming in for Xbox 1’s and PS4’s. Beats (headphones) are killing it right now, FitBits, everything seems to be flying off the shelves. I had Bose headphones for 40 bucks and those sold out instantly,” said Kyle at Best Buy.
Barnstable Police Officer Jack Corbett, who normally works the overnight, has been keeping order at Best Buy for the past couple of years by handing out numbers as people arrive.
“They can get out of the line if they want if they need to go someplace, grab a cup of coffee. They can get back in place and there’s no arguing about who was here first,” he said.
Local merchants on the Cape were also taking advantage of one the busiest shopping days of the year.
Rick Penn is President of Puritan of Cape Cod and said that he’s proud to open his doors to the community.
“I think it’s an honor when customers choose us to be part of their holiday tradition,” said Penn.
Penn’s brother Jim added that they’re feeling good about the holiday shopping season.
“With the election over now, I think people are more optimistic on what’s going on, and all the retail predictions point to a very solid holiday season and we anticipate the same thing happening at Puritan.”
Stores like Macy’s, Walmart, Target and more were open Thursday evening in what they hope will be a new holiday tradition.
Kelly Ingram reacts while receiving a Hatchimal, a top toy of the season, at Walmarts Black Friday event in Bentonville, AR on Nov. 24, 2016. (Gunnar Rathbun/AP Images for Walmart)
The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail group, expects holiday sales to rise 3.6 percent for November and December, better than the 3 percent growth seen for those months last year.
Around 137 million people plan to or are considering doing their shopping during the Thanksgiving weekend.
Black Friday vies with the Saturday before Christmas as the busiest shopping day of the year.
Throngs of shoppers lined up at Macy’s Herald Square in Manhattan for its evening opening, looking for deals, and Target estimated hundreds were waiting outside a store in Jersey City, New Jersey. The competition to grab customers first is keen.
Martin McDuffie came to a Walmart in suburban Columbia, South Carolina, for just one thing — a 60-inch television for $398. He’s been saving to replace his 32-inch TV.
For many shoppers, heading out in the middle night isn’t just about getting crazy deals on televisions, it’s about continuing a tradition with family.
“Tradition — we’ve been doing since our kids were little, little. We used to do one-stop shopping for Christmas and birthday,” said Nicola, who was shopping at Cape Cod Mall just after 4 a.m. Friday.
Other items that drew crowds at the store were cellphones, bargain DVDs and video games and Hatchimals — eggs with a small, animated animal inside that hatch when given attention.
Target CEO Brian Cornell, who was at the store in Jersey City, told The Associated Press he’s encouraged by early reports from stores around the country, and cited lower food and fuel prices and a solid job market as reasons to be optimistic.
By Matt Pitta, Justin Saunders and Matt McCarthy, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report
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