Published: November 28, 2008 06:23 pm      

Local turnout on Black Friday bigger than ever

What motivates people to get out of bed in the middle of the night to rush to area stores for Black Friday sales?

For some, it’s the rush of the sale or just a family tradition. For first-time Black Friday shopper Lori Mette, it was a Polaroid 42-inch LCD television that got her out of bed at 2 a.m. and standing in line at Effingham Wal-Mart by 3 a.m.

“I wanted that 42-inch LCD TV. I think I saved $400. It was definitely worth it to get that big-screen TV, but I think I’m going to sleep in next year,” the Teutopolis resident said while standing in line at Walgreens at 7 a.m., her arms full of toys.

Electronic deals like a 10-inch LCD television for $99.99 after a mail-in rebate and a wireless sports video game system for $19.99 brought people into the smaller stores like Walgreens, with checkout lines running the length of the store.

Lisa McMechan of Greenup got to Kohl’s about 3:25 this morning and she had already been shopping all night long.

“I haven’t been to bed yet. I left at 9:30 p.m. to go to Tuscola. I think I’ve stood in line more than I’ve shopped,” she said.

Linda Gelsinger of Mason also was standing outside of Kohls with her daughter Tracy Heath of Watson. They go every year because “it’s just traditional.”

Heath enjoys spending the time with her family, especially since her sister was joining the experience for the first time.

“We go just to see how crazy other people are, but this crowd seems to be pretty calm. Last year, the lines at Menards were atrociously long. You question whether you need these things when you’re waiting in line for two hours,” she said.

At 4:30 a.m., Kohl’s manager Dave Sauerwein was pleased with the business the store had within 30 minutes of opening.

“We’ve probably had 500 people waiting to get in and that’s as much or more than we had on our first Black Friday last year. Everyone’s hitting the big items like the GPS system, bedding and cookware,” he said.

While Sauerwein did say the declining economy has led the store to modify its sales goals, the economy didn’t seem to stop anyone from shopping today.

“This morning you would never know that anything was wrong with the economy,” he said.

Prior to Wal-Mart’s 5 a.m. special sales kickoff, store associates kept the crowds under control until the sales began. Additional personnel were called to the front of the store near 4:40 a.m. to keep people from running off with $8 jeans early.

An assistant manager warned crowds of people huddled around popular electronic items like a $39 8-inch digital photo frame and a $29 MP3 player “not to go crazy.”

“I’ve already warned the people at the Nintendos that if any fists go flying, you’re leaving with nothing,” she said, adding there were only about 22 Nintendo DS systems for $136.

Wal-Mart Store Manager Bob Lakin said, “most of our customers are pretty good, no major scuffles or anything like in years past.

“It went very, very well this morning. I got here at quarter to four this morning, and you couldn’t hardly get into the store. It’s the busiest I’ve seen it in a long time. I know we have 1,400 carts and there wasn’t one to be found this morning,” he said, adding the most popular items were the LCD televisions, jeans, GPS units and toys.

Lakin thought the slowing economy actually made for a busier than usual Black Friday.

“People are more cost-conscious. Money is tight this year, so they are looking at the sale items more this year. In past years, people would opt not to stand in line. This year, because money is tight, more people stood in line for bargains than they normally would,” he said.

Waiting in line for the digital photo frame was Deanna Worman of Dieterich, who was a bit nervous about the huge crowd forming around the item.

“It’s my first time (going Black Friday shopping). People are nuts!” Worman said.

Other early morning shoppers were accustomed to the craziness of Black Friday.

“You have to get here early to fight your way to the front,” said D.J. Brummer of Wheeler, who added that “it’s not the prices” that get people out shopping. “It’s the adrenaline rush.”

It wasn’t an adrenaline rush that got John Brown standing in a line that stretched to the back of Menards’ parking lot at 5:45 a.m. The Nebraska resident had been coaxed into going Christmas shopping with his mother and sister, though he did plan to buy some $5 ironclad gloves.

“I thought I’d done it (Black Friday shopping) before, but I didn’t think it was this bad. I’m sleeping in next year,” Brown said.

By 6:30 a.m., some of the tired shoppers were trickling in to have breakfast at McDonalds, causing the line to stretch to the door.

“I’m getting some breakfast before I have to go to work,” said Ann Overbeck of Effingham, who had to work until 3 p.m. at St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital. “I didn’t think I was going to get out of there (Wal-Mart) in time (for work).”