Bradenton area shoppers warm up to deals after cold start to Black Friday

Black Friday started off with a chilly reception by retailers and shoppers alike, but once the temperatures rose from the 40-degree chill, shoppers warmed up to deals by mid-morning.

Minutes before opening for its first Black Friday, The Mall at University Town Center parking lot was virtually empty.

If it wasn't for Macy's being open or employees parking their cars in a dirt lot, some folks would wonder if the mall was open at all.Dana Maassen of Bradenton wrapped up shopping at Target before coming to Macy's, noting how quiet the stores were for the morning. Yes, coming out at 6 a.m. is considered beating the rush at Black Friday now.

"That's why I like coming now because the really serious shoppers come last night now," she said. "So it's a nice kind of clam before everyone else wakes up."

Tari Furey of Roswell, Ga., walked out of Macy's with daughters Kelly and Maggie Furey by her side taking a rest in the brisk morning breeze before contemplating their next move. The family opted to check out the new Macy's instead of going to Rotunda West like they did last year.

Furey had that tired look pointing at her daughters.

"These two brought me out," Furey said. It's a Black Friday tradition getting up early to shop on Black Friday that started with Furey's sister who managed to pass on the shopping bug to her daughters.They hit Old Navy and Bath and Body Works each year and declined to shop on Thanksgiving while visiting family in Holmes Beach and opted to wake up at 3 a.m.

Coupled with the cold wind blowing through the area this morning, some stores gave shoppers the cold shoulder on Black Friday in the mall. All stores were required to open at 7 a.m., but several opted not to including Apple, Brighton, Crate & Barrel, Mayors jewelers and Tesla to name a few.

Mall officials still expect a strong showing for its first Black Friday, likening it to its grand opening weekend, said Kim Dominguez, marketing and sponsorship director for the mall. The mall had 60 percent of its tenants open for Thanksgiving and despite plenty of room to walk around, Dominguez said stores reported positive gains.

"I thought it went very well," she said. "Traffic was strong and I think it will be much stronger tonight."

At Jackie Z Style Co., JoAnn Robinson was tending shop over her daughter's store. The women's and men's clothing store owned by Jackie Zumba is the mall's only Sarasota-owned clothing retailer.

Shoppers are looking for sales and bargains and the store had 20 percent off and 60 percent off racks to lure in shoppers. Robinson sees the store's faithful shoppers from Sarasota coming in but is working to get Jackie Z's name out there to new shoppers. Black Friday is a wait and see day for many retailers as they find out if shoppers will file in from the big box retailers that drive the big shopping day.

"We're not a Walmart, and we're not a Best Buy," Robinson said. "I really didn't expect a rush this morning."

Once people are done shopping for sales and gifts for others, Robinson believes that's when shoppers will start to flow into the stores looking to pick up an outfit for themselves.

"I think that will come too with the holidays because we have so many beautiful holiday dresses and the men's stuff," she said. "I think that will change."

Eager in Ellenton

As the weather warmed up, so did the crowds. By 10 a.m., parking lots started to get full at area shopping centers including at the Ellenton outlets as cars backed up on U.S. 301 waiting to turn into the center.

The Thanksgiving evening opening, where 100 percent of the stores opened starting at 6 p.m. that night, helped spread out the crowd at the outlets making for a better experience, said Sarah Ozgun, director of marketing at the center. The outlets remained opened through 10 p.m. Friday and will reopen 8 a.m. Saturday.

“It’s actually made it a more pleasurable experience here at the outlet center because it’s easier to find parking spot this year,” Ozgun said. “It’s easier to get into the stores and easier to check out and they have the ability to get more shopping done during their visit.Retailers at the center still reported positive gains and increase in sales while the per hour foot traffic was down during certain periods for the two-day window.

At Skechers, store manager Tom Hilderbrand noticed a remarkable change in crowd pattern and behavior since he opened the store in 2010—a time when midnight opening was the norm.

“That was one of those where everybody for four or five hours you’re just hanging on for dear life. Then at that point you get a little bit of a lull but it’s a lot shorter. You got to go at such a high level that by the time you hit six, seven o’clock at night you’re just out of it, ” he said. “This is a little bit easier on my people. It’s a little bit longer day but a more steady day as opposed to a mad dash.”

Customers were coming in for winter boots and fall shoes with darker colors while the store offered buy one get one half off, he said, with sales being up from last year but spread out over time.

At the Columbia Sportswear outlet, Sally Dahlen of Gainesville was looking for a winter jacket for a trip to Europe. She’s spending her Thanksgiving with family in Tampa starting with shopping last night and got back up at 6 a.m. to come to the Ellenton outlets for the first time.

With shopping bags in tow, Dahlen said she’s bought more this holiday season than last thanks to the deals being offered. At Coach she said she saved about $100 on a handbag.Coach and handbag stores are usually the most popular retailers on Black Friday in Ellenton and this year was no different. About 150 people lined up outside of Coach on Thanksgiving night to wait for deals. The store is offering 50 percent off plus an additional 40 percent off clearance items through Sunday.

“That line continued throughout the night because only so many people could enter the store,” Ozgun said.

Deals at DeSoto

Bells jingled as J.C. Penney employees waited on customers thanks to every worker wearing jingle bell gloves.

It served as a good substitute to the days cash registers would ring up the sales. Thanksgiving and Black Friday might as well have been a bell chorus for the department store at DeSoto Square mall.

Sales remained brisk throughout Thanksgiving and by 11 a.m., registers had full lines after a morning lull.

“Based on our results overnight, it was a little softer from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. last year,” store manager Gregory Sapp said.

Penney’s opened at 5 p.m. Thanksgiving and had lines at each of their entrances, said store manager Greg Sapp said. Customers are gravitating toward housewares, small appliances that were as low as $9.99, jewelry and ladies boots, he said. Sapp expects the momentum to carry through Christmas.

“I think all the signs are pointing to some strong indicators that customer confidence is up,” Sapp said. “We’re well stocked, and we’ll be well prepared.”

DeSoto Square took a different approach this year for Thanksgiving weekend under a new manager. The mall opened at 9 a.m. Friday instead of a midnight Thanksgiving opening. Finish Line and Champs Sports opened early at 8 a.m. for a shoe release with lines out the door, said general manager Robert Tackett.

“Most of the tenants are doing well,” he said. “I think couple of them later in the day they will get busier, especially the clothing stores.”

Walking through the mall, Sears, J.C. Penney, shoe stores and T-Mobile were the busiest retailers.

Diana Crum and Debbie Tuckerman of Bradenton were on their way out of the mall after loading up on deals at Rack Room Shoes and Bath and Body Works as an encore to shopping at J.C. Penney Thursday night.

They came to DeSoto because the mall had all the stores they wanted to shop at and it was a shorter drive than the other centers.

“It’s going to be a lot less busy than the new mall, we thought,” Crum said.

Despite shopping at J.C. Penney on Thanksgiving, Crum said she wished all stores would close for the holiday and do the sales Friday through Sunday instead of starting on the holiday.

“It’s ridiculous,” Crum said. “At Thanksgiving, you should be at home with your family. Not working and battling angry shoppers.”

Tuckerman offered, “Although that did cut the traffic down.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2014 at 6:55 AM with the headline "Bradenton area shoppers warm up to deals after cold start to Black Friday."