Shoppers venture out to stores on Black Friday, some lured by the chance to snag Taylor Swift merch
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Black Friday was plenty busy around 10 a.m. at the Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield — at least until a false fire alarm went off.
But while some headed — albeit very leisurely — for the exits, most took a quick look around and then continued their Black Friday shopping.
Braelyn Scott, 7, of Home, Pa., between Indiana and Punxsutawney, was ready to head home Friday but for the fact that she hadn’t gotten to visit with Santa yet. She was taking a quick nap on her mother Stephanie’s lap at a bench outside Macy’s.
“We come out for Black Friday every year,” Stephanie Scott said. “We don’t have a mall like this up in Indiana, so we like to come here.”
Cindy Shawley and her friend, Michele Domonkos of Windber, don’t usually come to the Westmoreland Mall on Black Friday, but stopped by shortly before lunchtime so Domonkos could look for some gifts for her grandchildren.
“I do a lot of online shopping through Amazon, especially for the kids, but if I’m buying clothes, I like to come to the stores,” Domonkos said.
By the numbers
The National Retail Federation says some of the busiest shopping days are during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend.
According to the organization, 183.4 million people are planning to shop in-store and online from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday this year, up from 182 million last year.
Because Thanksgiving came a week later than usual this year, many retailers at the Westmoreland and Monroeville malls started their Black Friday promotions early in anticipation of a shortened holiday shopping season, said Stacey Keating, spokesperson for CBL Properties, which owns the two malls.
“Sales were up at Westmoreland in the third quarter, flat in Monroeville but up across our portfolio during that same time frame,” Keating said. “As we’ve gotten closer to Black Friday, traffic has started to build, which is a positive indicator for the season.”
In the National Retail Federation’s survey, more than half, 57%, said they would be shopping because the deals are too good to pass up, while 28% said it was a tradition and 24% said they like to start holiday shopping over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Willard Gray of Greensburg seemed like he was fully decked out for the holidays, with a Christmas sweater and a felt hat sporting reindeer antlers as he browsed a few shops at Westmoreland Mall.
But that’s nothing compared to the outfit he wore in the 1970s, when he worked as Santa Claus at the Greengate Mall for several years.
“My daughter, Heidi, used to be Santa’s helper,” he said. “Today, I’m the helper, holding all her bags.”
Gray said Christmas is his favorite holiday season.
“I just loved being Santa Claus,” he said.
Swifties among shoppers
Taylor Swift exclusives, including the official Eras Tour Book and The Tortured Poets Department on vinyl and CD, were a major draw at Target stores.
The Swift merch was enough to bring a hobbled Matt Harris to Target in Harmar with his sons, Apollo, 10, and Orion, 8. Harris of Fox Chapel was on crutches, having broken his left ankle while skydiving in September.
He got one of the tour books for himself and one for his sister in England, finding a display in an unusual spot near the grocery section.
“Anything that encourages me to go out is good,” Harris said. “It’s not too busy.”
While looking for other deals, Harris said he’s able to get most of those online, and he saw them starting as far back as Veterans Day.
“Everything starts early,” he said. “As a day, it’s become less of an activity. It’s more of a season.”