Valley retailers get ready for Black Friday

By KALEA HALL

khall@vindy.com

Stacks upon stacks of toys are ready for the taking at Toys “R” Us in Boardman.

Black Friday sales are a week away, but stores such as Toys “R” Us already are prepping for the rush of shoppers.

Shoppers, too, are preparing for not just a day, but really a weekend of sales starting Thanksgiving evening.

The National Retail Federation says 69 percent of Americans, 164 million people, plan to shop or will consider shopping during Thanksgiving weekend – which includes Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Sunday and Cyber Monday.

Yvonne Moretti of Austintown is a consistent Black Friday shopper.

“We have been doing it for five years now,” she said. “We go Thanksgiving night, and we come back out at 3 or 4 in the morning.”

Moretti and her daughters make the event a fun family affair, but they also get some good deals. Typically they start at Southern Park Mall, then go to Walmart and might also hit Toys “R” Us.

“We look at The Vindicator first in the morning,” she said about checking out the deals on Thanksgiving before shopping.

Beth Marshall of Columbiana also enjoys Black Friday shopping for the deals and the holiday feelings.

“It’s getting into the holiday spirit for me,” she said. “I don’t like to listen to Christmas carols until Black Friday.”

Shopping malls and stores add to the experience with holiday decor, music and deals for days.

“It is more of a holiday event,” said Joe Bell, spokesman for the Cafaro Co., which runs the Eastwood Mall Complex in Niles. “In this case, Black Friday has become more like a social event for folks.”

At Eastwood, the first 500 people in the door at the food-court entrance on Thanksgiving when the mall opens at 6 p.m. will receive a swag bag, and the first 200 in the door at 6 a.m. Friday will receive a chocolate bar with a prize inside the wrapper.

“It’s just good to add to the excitement,” Bell said.

On Black Friday, Southern Park Mall will have a “Black Friday with Hot 101” event from 6 a.m. to noon in Center Court. The first 200 shoppers to stop by the Hot 101 table will receive a shopping bag.

“We are as excited as ever to kick off the holiday season with extended holiday hours and a popular selection of retailers to meet shopper demand,” Lori Reda, marketing director at Southern Park Mall, said in a statement. “In addition, our variety of traditional events paired with other happenings will make Southern Park Mall even more appealing for friends and family to shop, dine and spend time together.”

Holiday retail sales in November and December this year will be up between 3.6 percent and 4 percent over last year for a total of between $678.8 billion and $682 billion in sales, according to the NRF. The annual holiday spending forecast takes in economic factors to predict holiday retail sales in November and December.

For the first time in the NRF’s consumer survey history, online shopping is expected to surpass brick-and-mortar shopping. The survey results were generated from 7,349 consumers. Fifty-nine percent of consumers selected online as the top shopping destination, while 57 percent say they prefer to shop at a department store.

Consumers say they will spend an average $967.13 this year, up 3.4 percent from the $935.58 consumers said they would spend last year.

“With employment and incomes increasing, consumers are more confident this year, and that is reflected in their buying plans for the holidays,” Matthew Shay, NRF president and CEO, said in a statement.