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Circuit City was busy Friday, and people appeared to be buying, although the store's general manager, Sean Connolly, said shopping was a little lighter than last year at this time. Here Bobbi Walker (left) and Jaimar Sanchez work to get customers checked-out. The lines remained steady with few opportunities to take a break.

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published: Sunday, November 30, 2008

Will Black Friday be black enough?

By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY

christopher.tuffley@newssun.com

SEBRING -- Black Friday is a phrase of hope retailers use. It's taken from the habit bookkeepers have of using black ink when accounts are ahead, and red ink when they are behind. To have a Black Friday means a store made money and moved out of the red.

The importance of course, is that Christmas shopping is what keeps most retailers in the black for the year, and the day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the holiday season, with stores offering mega sales that draw shoppers to their doors well before dawn.

But local store managers were concerned that this Black Friday might turn out to be dark gray instead.

Certainly parking lots are fuller than they have been lately, retailers are seeing more people out and about, and a good portion of them are actually shopping. But even so, Circuit City general manager Sean Connolly was among several who said, "It's a little lighter this year than last."

Most customers, when asked, indicated their shopping budget was tighter this year, but also said they were going to do what they could to make sure their children had a good Christmas.

Traveling to shop doesn't seem to be an issue what with the drop in gasoline prices, and the need to find the perfect gift.

For example, quite a few shoppers had driven up from Okeechobee or east from Wauchula to shop in Highlands County, and many of the local shoppers were just as prepared to drive out of town to find what they needed.

Clothing stores, like Ross, were jammed Friday, and some shoppers said their Christmas was going to have a practical theme.

But electronics stores were busy too.

Connolly said that gaming is big, especially the social games like Wii and Guitar Hero, and that many families are upgrading to plasma TVs. GPS systems also are hot.

Customers could be seen carefully looking over the store's flyers announcing special deals.

Over in Lakeshore Mall, the Game Stop was just as busy as shoppers looked over the games and components for sale. The Game Stop is a little different in that it sells used games as well. "Buy two of those and you get one free," said a young man handing out gift guides at the door.

Lori Olsen and her daughter Michele Olsen, looking over cell phones, said they were geared up for the season. They were going to shop locally first, but would travel to Orlando and Tampa if that's what it took.

David Lynch, who lives in Clermont, was visiting family here for Thanksgiving. Although he wasn't out shopping per say, he was looking over the options and checking out sales.

Sherri Lamb, who just moved here from Iowa, was surprised to find "things a little more expensive here, depending on what you're buying."

Two teenage sisters, Tabitha and Tanya Ray, had driven up from Okeechobee to shop at the Lakeshore Mall. They had made one small purchase, but weren't finished yet.

David Byars, someone else who came up from Okeechobee, had a basket full of decorations he'd bought at the Dollar Tree Store by Publix. Darlene Smith and Juanita Collins, who work at Griffin's Dry Cleaning & Laundry, were in the next check-out lane, also buying decorations, in this case to decorate the store.

According to customers, decorations and stocking stuffers were two reasons the Dollar Tree store was so busy. A constant line moved through the cashiers stations.

Jill Brown, a three-year Christmas veteran at the Dollar Tree, said, "It's shaping up good, very good." She laughed as she rang up a sale, "Don't forget we have fresh bread every day for $1," she added.

Perhaps the most excited Christmas shopper was Lisa Mingus. Her husband Clint, an operations specialist first class in the United States Coast Guard, is due home from a six-month deployment at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He already served a year in Iraq.

She stood still amid the swirling crowd in Circuit City absolutely determined to bring home a large-screen screen plasma television, so it will be set up and ready to go the minute he walks in the door next week.