Holiday shoppers paint Black Friday green

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By Michelle J. Nealy THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Retailers pulled out the stops this year to lure Black Friday shoppers. One mall even gave out doughnuts.

Shoppers, it seems, took the bait.

Shopping center parking lots were jammed Friday, the first official day of the Christmas buying season. Lured by deep discounts - and the occasional free sweet - customers filled stores from early in the morning until late into the night, bringing cheer to storekeepers who, until now, have had little to be happy about.

By 5 a.m. Friday, employees at the Mall at Prince Georges in Hyattsville had handed out 500 goodie bags, which included a fortifying doughnut. By 10:00 a.m. the 3,800-space parking lot reached capacity as a steady flow of shoppers continued to stream in.

"We are very busy here at the Mall of Prince Georges and have been since I arrived at 4:30 this morning," said Victoria Clark, marketing director of the center. "I see lots of electronics whizzing by me and Macy's 2-carat bracelet for under $99 seems to be a big hit. The traffic is about the same as last year."

With more than 96 percent of retail outlets expected to increase promotions, shoppers poured into stores like Target Corp., Wal-Mart, Best Buy Co., and Toys "R" Us as early as midnight looking for big savings. Wal-Mart's $298 Hewlett-Packard laptop computer and Best Buy's 32-inch LG flat panel televisions were among this season's crowd pleasers, along with netbooks and Blu-ray DVD players.

Photo Gallery

Big bargains on Black Friday

Shoppers get to Fair Oaks Mall in Burke, VA early to take advantage of sales offered to customers on Black Friday. The mall made sure their employees were taken care of too with bagged breakfast and messages.

Nicole Walker, a resident of Northeast Washington, began her holiday hunt for a laptop Friday at 2 a.m. in Columbia Heights. After four hours of waiting in line at Best Buy, she bought a $400 laptop.

Ms. Walker, who is unemployed, said, "Money is strapped." A habitually late holiday shopper, Ms. Walker opted not to procrastinate this year. "I actually did everything early. The economy forced me to."

With unemployment at a 26-year high of 10.2 percent, price is extremely important to consumers this year, and retailers cannot bank on impulse buys.

James Russo, vice president of marketing at the Nielsen Company, a market research firm, said shoppers will be a lot smarter this year. More than 90 percent of holiday purchases made this year will be planned, he said.