On Friday, the Morgantown area was bustling with shoppers hoping to catch some of those Black Friday deals, but some stores were busier than others.
Menard’s management said they had customers lined up outside the store in Westover for its 5 a.m. opening. Many of those early birds made off with a $150, 7.6 cubic foot retro refrigerator, a $300 heated and massaging recliner, or a $50 luggage set. A 10-foot-by-10-foot blanket selling for $15 was also one of the best-selling items of the day, they said.
Bass Pro Shop may have been one of the busier retailers in town with people lining up as early as 2 a.m. for its 5 a.m. opening. The first 250 people through the door received a gift card with a surprise amount off of their purchase. Aside from deals on rifles, bows and clothing, the retailer had food trucks serving up coffee and barbecue in the parking lot.
Throughout the season, Bass Pro Shop hosts “Santa’s Wonderland,” where children can meet Santa and receive a free 4×6 photo. Reservations can be made to visit Santa on the website, basspro.com.
At Target, customers flocked toward the toy department for a buy one, get one 50% off deal on select toys, games and puzzles.
Stand-alone stores weren’t the only ones to see crowds on Friday. At the Morgantown Mall, shoppers were out in full force, many retailers said.
Employees at Victoria’s Secret said this year seemed more like the Black Fridays from seasons past, with a constant flow of customers coming in the door, many looking for outwear and sweatsuits.
Amanda Morgan, manager of JC Penney, said the store has actually been running its Black Friday sales for about a week, but, surprisingly, still had around 100 people lined up for its 5 a.m. opening.
The hot ticket items were small appliances, she said, selling out of Crock-Pots within 10 minutes of opening. Another draw to the mall’s lone department store were the giveaways throughout the day. Shoppers who arrived at opening had a chance to receive various gift cards including a $100 off $100.
Morgan said unlike previous years, Penney’s continued the giveaways throughout the day with prizes given away at 5 a.m., 9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m.
According to a study by Wallethub, JC Penney was the best place to shop on Black Friday with an average discount of 59.1%. Its sales included extreme discounts on some pricier items too — like a $6,250 engagement ring marked down to $1,666.
Macy’s, Belk, Kohl’s and Target rounded out the top five best places to shop on Black Friday this year, according to the study.
While area stores seemed to be seeing a higher number of in-store customers than last year, many customers came to pick up items already purchased online.
Totals for 2023 were not available in time for this report, but according to WalletHub, in 2022 Americans shopped from home on Black Friday more than they did in stores, with 122.7 million people getting their deals in person vs. 130.2 million making purchases online.
Many name brand or chain retailers will end or change their sales for the weekend. Local businesses will be the focus on Saturday, as Small Business Saturday rolls in.
