Turkey Day shopping simply an appetizer for Black Friday’s main course

On a Thanksgiving Day afternoon, under a mix of alternating sunny and cloudy skies, it might aptly be called an appetizer for what will be the main course at Columbus shopping centers on Black Friday.

In front of the Best Buy store on Manchester Expressway in Columbus stood Michele Aragon of Phenix City and her twin sister, Tamara Scott of Columbus. The 47-year-olds were stretching their legs after having camped out in their car Wednesday night before jumping to near the front of a ticket-distribution line earlier Thursday to wait for the store’s 5 p.m. doorbuster opening.

The pair and another friend had their eyes on one primary item — a 50-inch Sharp high-definition television valued at $500, but being sold to first comers for $180 plus tax.

“It’s a good deal. There are limited quantities, so we’re trying to get as close as we can to the front,” said Michele, recalling the last time the sisters queued in line for a special Black Friday purchase was many years ago when the now-bankrupt Circuit City was offering laptop computers for $99 at Columbus Park Crossing.

“We go out every year, but nothing like this,” said Tamara, noting she and her sister had brought blankets to ward off the chill and would rotate breaks to their car occasionally during the wait. And this was their major shopping moment this year, they conceded, aside from a planned stop later on at a Walmart Supercenter.

“There’s only a few things this year that I want,” said Michele. “The TV is one, and my son wants an upgrade to his iPhone. That’s over at Walmart.”

An hour earlier, next door at Peachtree Mall, Conseula Dowdell, 45, of Columbus was standing in a long line outside the JCPenney department store doors that appeared to number a few hundred people. The retailer apparently attracted the crowd because of coupons it was giving out for $10, $100 and $500 off of a purchase.

“All of my kids are grown, so I’m shopping for my grandkids now. And we’re going to be out again in the morning bright and early,” said Dowdell, who was with her daughter, Tanyeitta Davison. They were planning to travel to an outlet mall in north Georgia on Black Friday.

Dowdell estimated she will be spending about $1,000 this year on her entire family. “But most of the time, you know, that tends to go over,” she said. “But hopefully we’ll stick to the budget and not go too much over.”

Meanwhile, over at Columbus Park Crossing on the city’s north side, the shopping crowds in waiting were nowhere the size of those at Best Buy and JCPenney. There was a handful of people waiting in line at the Kohl’s store, with a similar small cluster of shoppers queuing outside the Toys R Us outlet.

At the front of the toy store line was Shannon Brown, 38, and her mother, Connie Brown, 60, both of Columbus. Mom had arrived around 2 p.m. Thursday to hold a spot for her daughter — who is shopping for three sons this Christmas — so that Shannon could take her boys to their great-grandma’s house for a few hours.

Before arriving at the shopping center, mom and daughter dined at IHOP after spotting an extremely busy Cracker Barrel restaurant on Bradley Park Drive and deciding they didn’t have enough time to eat there. Earlier in the day, there also were crowds spotted trying to get in the doors of Golden Corral just off Manchester Expressway.

As for what Shannon was planning to purchase, she said “there are a couple of video games, but not one particular item. There are several different items that are significantly reduced, so I’ll be grabbing as many of those as possible.”

The two were expecting to venture over to the Walmart Supercenter adjacent to Sam’s Club after leaving Toys R Us before heading home. Shannon said she probably would be heading back out for Black Friday spending the next day, unless she somehow could wrap up her gift list spending on Thanksgiving.

Just a short distance away, at the Target discount store on Bradley Park, Lisa Lyda, 45, and her daughter, Elizabeth, 15, were sitting on the concrete sidewalk, their backs against the wall, waiting for the outlet’s 5 p.m. opening. They had arrived at 2:30 p.m. and were the first in line, and at 4 p.m., about an hour before opening, still wasn’t all that long.

Interestingly, they had already hit the crowded JCPenney store, bought what they needed quickly, and then headed for Target. Their shopping list at second store was a bit different.

“It’s kind of crazy,” the mother said. “She wants the (3-foot) teddy bear that’s $10 and it’s normally $50, and some beanie hats for her that are on sale for $5. Last year, when we came we were in and out in 10 minutes. And then when we leave here, we’ll go to Kohl’s.”

Asked why she was out on Thanksgiving, a day that is traditionally reserved for spending time focusing on family and friends and offering thanks for the blessings you already have, Lyda concurred that it is a sticking point for her.

“That’s the one thing I don’t like about it is it used to be we would get up at 2 o’clock in the morning on Friday and then head out because the stores weren’t open on Thanksgiving. But it’s changed the last few years. And (JCPenney at 2 p.m.) is pushing it even further. I’m like, really, because we had Thanksgiving dinner — I should say lunch — at 12 and finished at 1 and then went to the mall.”

The mother and daughter said that they planned to shop through the evening and into early Friday, probably until about 2 a.m., before ending their shopping spree. That way, Lyda said, they won’t have to come back out into the Black Friday crowds.

This story was originally published November 23, 2017 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Turkey Day shopping simply an appetizer for Black Friday’s main course."