Shoppers Hit Stores For Start Of Black Friday Rush
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- For many shoppers, Black Friday started early as New York retailers opened their doors Thursday night to kick off the biggest shopping holiday of the year.
At Toys R' Us in Times Square, where doors opened at five o'clock, people lined up, ready with their lists and eager to start their holiday shopping, WLNY TV 10/55's Tracee Carrasco reported.
Justina Otero waited three hours to be the first one in.
"It was worth it because I do not want to deal with the mess of everybody and I just want to go home and eat, I want to get home for dinner," Otero, of the Bronx, said.
The deals on toys, gaming systems and electronics were good enough to even make Otero a little late to her family's Thanksgiving dinner.
"By the time I get there, they'll just be preparing everything so I'm good to go," Otero said.
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For Joann Santos, of Manhattan, shopping is a family affair -- her family brought their dinner with them to eat in line because Thanksgiving Day shopping has become a new tradition.
"We used to do it on Black Friday, and we would leave the home at like five o'clock in the morning but now because they're opening the stores on Thursday it kind of saves us a little bit of time," Santos said.
Shoppers at Queens Center Mall started filing in at six o'clock to take advantage of all the pre Black Friday deals -- doorbusters, entire stores on sale, and markdowns too good to pass up.
"These boots was $20 and they were originally one hundred dollars," Andreena Burrell, of Jamacia, said. "Oh and the jackets too, they was a hundred dollars too and they was $19."
Within minutes, what had been a frenzy on the blocks surrounding Macys in Herald Square completely died down when the store opened at 6 p.m., WCBS 880's Stephanie Colombini reported. Macy's security herded the crowds in swiftly and smoothly.
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Ursula Armond and her friends came all the way from London.
"So cheap - we're looking for handbags! We all want handbags," Armond said.
According to the National Retail Federation -- retailers will stretch the savings through the weekend -- even into cyber Monday and the week that follows.
"Now is the time for people to come and grab the best deal," Nina Bar, a store owner, said.
