Sizeable crowds of bargain-hunters finished up their Thanksgiving pie early and headed out to wait in lines for hours for a handful of retailers who have opened their doors before midnight.
Among them: Angela Carver, who came to the Westminster Toys “R” Us armed with tote bags, a sack full of coupons and a game-plan honed, she said, from a year of research and years of experience.
“You’ve got to know what you’re doing when you get in there,” Carver said, explaining her choice of bags in lieu of a cart. “People will swipe stuff out of your cart when you’re not looking.”
Carver, 35, of Erie, stood in line for two hours before the doors opened at 9 p.m.
A line of several hundred people started to form at 2:30 Thursday afternoon at the store.
The chain’s stores opened an hour earlier from last year, said Bob Friedland, a spokesman for Toys “R” Us.
Last year, lines of shoppers wrapped around stores nationwide, and this year in Westminster is no different.
First in line was Alexandra Erlich, 31, of Arvada, who waited seven hours for the privilege.
“You’ve got to do everything you can to save a buck,” Erlich said. “The holidays are supposed to be about tradition, but saving money here makes it easier for me to get the things I need.”
Within 5 minutes her cart was full.
“There are a lot of customers who really do want to come to us right after their dinner because it lets them sleep a little bit more the next day,” Friedman said. “For a lot of families coming to our store is a tradition.”
Toys “R” Us joined Wal-Mart and a handful of other retailers who ditched midnight openings and early bird specials and are serving up Black Friday deals tonight.
Wal-Mart, which closes its doors once a year from 8 p.m. Christmas Eve until 6 a.m. on Dec. 26, will start its first round of Black Friday bargains at 10 p.m., when toys, housework and clothing went on sale. At midnight bargains will start for electronics, digital cameras and printers. Starting at 8 a.m. on Friday, shoppers can save on items throughout the store.
Other major retailers, such as Target, Kohl’s and Macy’s will open at midnight. Best Buy will welcome bargain-hunters at 12:01 a.m. and Sears opens its doors at 4 a.m.
When the stores announced their opening times, several groups emerged in protest. Critics claimed retailers forced employees to choose between work or their families and emphasized materialism.
Occupy Denver does not plan on disrupting holiday shoppers tomorrow, but urged people to buy locally as part of “Boycott Wal-Mart” and “Buy Nothing Day,” according to a statement.
Toys “R” Us employees will be paid extra to work during Thursday night and employees’ schedules were accommodated as much as possible, Friedland said. This year, Toys “R” Us hired 40,000 seasonal employees nationwide.
About 34 percent of consumers plan to shop on Black Friday, a 3 percent increase from last year and an 8 percent increase from 2009, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. This holiday season, 16 percent of consumers plan on shopping at stores that open tonight.
An overwhelming number of shoppers said they plan to look for bargains for themselves, instead of buying holiday gifts.
Several metro area malls will open early on Friday, Colorado Mills will open at 5 a.m., Cherry Creek Shopping Center and Southwest Plaza Mall will open at 6 a.m. and Park Meadows will open at 7 a.m.
About 43 percent of consumers plan to buy toys during the holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. Barbie continued to be the number most popular item for girls. Video games topped the charts for boys.
The iPad also made its way onto several wish lists this year, tying for 11th place with Disney items for girls and landing in 20th place for boys.
Of the estimated 152 million people predicted to shop during this weekend, including Black Friday, 50 percent of people planned their shopping around circular ads. Almost 20 percent said they tracked deals on retailers’ Facebook pages.
Shoppers who missed tonight and tomorrow’s bargains will get another chance on what has become known as Cyber Monday, the online equivalent to Black Friday.
About 50 percent of retailers are offering online deals today, and 74 percent said they will offer online specials on Monday, according to the NRF. Online deals include coupons, limited time offers and free shipping.
Throughout the holiday shopping season, 75.9 million people said they will shop online for holiday gifts at work.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
McClatchy Newspapers contributed to this report
