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Bargain Hunting on Bleak Friday
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Macy's reported that nearly 5,000 people, more than last year, waited outside its Herald Square store yesterday morning. Toys R Us chief executive Gerald L. Storch said the New York flagship was packed with shoppers seeking the latest Elmo doll and iPods.
"What we heard from our customers time and time again is that the last thing they're going to cut from their shopping list is a present for their children for Christmas," he said.
Such is the case of Isha Wilkerson, 30, of Shaw, who hit the Toys R Us in Bailey's Crossroads yesterday morning. After putting away gifts from her first round of shopping, including a giant Talking Friendship Adventure Dora that took up half her trunk, she said she was going back inside for a Disney Princess vanity for her daughter, priced down to about $60 from $100.
"I can't leave without it," she said.
Dawn Crawford, 31, of Alexandria, and her girlfriends filled two shopping carts at Wal-Mart in Fair Lakes Center with toys for their children. Noticeably absent were any goodies for themselves. Crawford said she is trying to cut her spending in half this year.
"We pretty much decided we're not giving each other gifts," she said. "We're concentrating on the little ones."
Kelly and Kate Watson of Rockville said their family has decided for the first time to choose Secret Santas among siblings and cousins rather than deluge one another with gifts. Their father was recently laid off, and though he has found another job, the family wanted to keep spending to a minimum this year.
But just because they were buying less for one another didn't mean that they couldn't get a few things for themselves. Kelly, a freshman at the University of Maryland, bought a blazer at Montgomery Mall yesterday and planned to also purchase a North Face winter jacket.
"My parents used to spend a lot for the kids," she said, "but this year it's going to be different."
Sean Feeney, 25, bought home-networking gear at Best Buy in Rockville yesterday and said that his shopping strategy was similar to many consumers: "I'm trying to spend as little money as possible," he said. "I won't buy anything that is not on sale."
For David Zaterka, 45, of North Carolina, Black Friday offered more than just a deal. It was a chance to be a VIP for a day.
Zaterka won a Best Buy contest searching for the biggest Black Friday fan and arrived in a limo at the Best Buy in Columbia Heights while more unfortunate souls huddled under blankets outside. Zaterka and his family were allowed to shop an hour before everyone else and got one-on-one attention from employees as they filled up their shopping cart with video games, memory cards and a new laptop and printer.
