The Thanksgiving Day head start that many retailers gave customers wanting to shop for holiday bargains seems to have eased the crunch shoppers used to endure on Black Friday.
"I think what happened is Black Friday has lost that intensity of people waiting in line and rushing," said Fred Paine, general manager at Pearlridge Center. "We spaced it out so people can get what they need and not rush. It takes a lot of the pressure off, which I think is a good thing."
Pearlridge Center had 30 stores open before midnight Thursday, including Macy’s and Sears.
The stores saw a lot of eager shoppers, but the scene was just not as chaotic, Paine said. The traffic around the center was less congested, which made it easier for shoppers to get around compared with previous Black Fridays, he said.
The same was true at Ala Moana Center, the state’s largest mall, according to Scott Creel, senior marketing manager at Ala Moana.
"While the Center saw large crowds initially as it does every year, the extended mall hours eased parking availability and allowed customers easier access to stores and more time to shop," Creel said in an email.
Sales were also strong at Ala Moana, which opened at midnight Thursday compared with the 6 a.m. Friday opening last year.
"While we are unable to provide specific numbers, we do anticipate this year’s Black Friday to be as busy, if not busier than in previous years," Creel said.
Paine said the extended hours allowed Pearlridge stores to sell as much as or more than last year.
"All the merchants I spoke to said their sales were up over last year," Paine said. "That extra six hours really does make a difference. I’ve been around to the stores; they all were reporting excellent sales. Everyone was smiling even though they are tired."
Best Buy also reported strong sales in Honolulu.
With customers lining up as early as Tuesday, BestBuy opened at 5 p.m. Thursday and was open for shoppers until 1 a.m. Friday. The electronics retailer then reopened at 8 a.m. Friday. The early opening was good for shoppers, said Sean Oliver, general manager at Best Buy.
"We had an amazing turnout," Oliver said. "We were busy straight through. There were long lines, we were busy and steady, and we didn’t taper off at all."
"They’re more strategic about their shopping," Oliver said. "People shopping today had time to look at the ads. I think what worked in our favor was all of the other malls opened at midnight. After we were done here, I think they just power-shopped straight through."
Electronics were hot at Toys R Us on Friday morning as the children’s store offered deals on Kurio 7- or 4-inch tablets and Polaroid 7-inch tablets, said Toys R Us Manager Dave Palmer.
"It actually picked up at 7 a.m. this morning. We ran door-busters that increased traffic," Palmer said. "It is certainly meeting expectations."
Shops that waited until Friday to open still saw wall-to-wall crowds.
"We had people waiting from Thursday at 10:30 p.m. to get in at 6 a.m. this morning," said Alyssa Nakao, senior managing assistant for Eden in Love. "The line when I got in at 3:30 a.m. was around the building."
Since 2005, Black Friday has been the top sales day of the year in the U.S., according to ShopperTrak, which tracks data at 70,000 stores globally.
That could change this year as the earlier openings on Thanksgiving are eating into Black Friday sales. As a result, the last Saturday before Christmas might edge out Black Friday.
Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak, said it should be close to a tie.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
