Excitement begins for Black Friday

Reporter: Jolena Esperto
Published: Updated:

The deals for holiday shopping have been going on for days already, but there is still a large group of you who still love the thrill of getting to the store on Black Friday.

The term dates back to 1960 in Philadelphia when shoppers flooded the city at the same time football fans came to see the annual Army vs. Navy football game, creating a logistical nightmare.

Now, it’s a nationwide event that has expanded to weeks before and after.

A lot of black Friday has already started. People have been shopping online, and shoppers outside of Best Buy here told us they already noticed deals before Thanksgiving.

Buzz Rouillard worked at Dick’s Sporting Goods at Pagefield Commons when it opened. He remembers how crazy Black Friday used to get there.

“The line would go all the way out the door and all the way down to Best Buy, at the end of the mall literally all day long, and it would start 12:01 a.m.,” he said.

Not anymore because you no longer have to wait for a deal, but if you do plan to hit the stores, here is some advice.

“Just keep a few places in mind, do your research, and then get out there early because things, I mean in the store, they go out of stock really fast,” said Nikita Kasireddy, shopper.

“Have a backpack with water, beverages and some food in there because there might be a line. You think there might be a line, you never know, there could be a line. I know a lot of people shop online today, more than they did 10 years ago,” Rouillard said.

We hit some stores and noticed a few deals. So did Kasireddy.

“I think on Black Friday, we’ll probably go to Miromar, which is the mall here, or Coconut Park Mall, and they have a bunch of places, so my mom’s probably gonna go to, like, JC-Penny and Macy’s, but we’ll probably go to, I don’t know, maybe like Hollister,” Kasireddy said.

Most retailers have their doors closed on Thursday so employees can be with family for Thanksgiving.

Several, like Walmart and Target, reopen at six on Friday morning, and so do Miromar Outlets.

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