Black Friday 2022: Early-bird shoppers in Daytona Beach out before dawn for holiday ritual

DAYTONA BEACH — Even at the tender age of 18, Kyle Wright has been around long enough to wax nostalgic about the glory days of Black Friday, when bargain-hunters would line up overnight for a shot at door-buster bargains on the traditional opening day of the holiday shopping season.

“I remember people showing up really early, but it’s not really a big thing anymore,” said Wright, of Port Orange, who nevertheless embraced tradition by pulling an all-nighter with a handful of old high school buddies to secure a spot at the front of the line at Best Buy on West International Speedway Boulevard.

They were among the pre-dawn masses who still shopped old-school on Black Friday in Daytona Beach, even in an era when it’s less essential to set alarm clocks for deals that many stores started offering earlier in November.

“We’ve been here since 2 a.m.,” said Wright, adding that the friends started the marathon shopping trip with a late Thursday showing of the new film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” at a local theater.

A Black Friday preview: Black Friday expectations still big, even with shoppers starting earlier this year

Inflation coping tips: Hoping to avoid inflation? Make these moves to get some relief

Black Friday 2021 in pictures: Black Friday shoppers hit the stores for deals in Daytona Beach

Later, in the Best Buy parking lot, there also had been an impromptu game of baseball with a rubber ball and folded-up camp chairs as bats, he said. There also were occasional strolls to the Wawa across the parking lot for drinks, snacks or bathroom runs.

Behind them, in the misty pre-dawn darkness were roughly two dozen other early-birds, counting down the remaining 45 minutes until the big-box electronics store opened its doors at 5 a.m.

Like many retailers, Best Buy started offering most of its Black Friday deals in advance, both in-store and online. Although Wright and his friends had a few things on their wish lists, including the new video game Fortnite Chapter 2, shopping wasn’t the main motivation, they said.

“It’s the experience, man,” said Joey Short, 18, a freshman at the University of Florida. “There’s a first for everything, and I knew that I’d be first in line this year.”

Camaraderie part of Black Friday's appeal

At One Daytona, meanwhile, roughly 250 Black Friday shoppers formed a line that stretched from the front door to the east parking lot of Bass Pro Shops, where doors also opened at 5 a.m.

The store’s Black Friday deals included $12 jeans and $10 flannel shirts as well as a deep price-cut on a popular Savage Axis II XP bolt-action rifle on sale for $349.98, a $150 savings off its regular price of $499.99.

At the front of that line, Michael Geiger, 57, an environmental services worker from New Smyrna Beach, had arrived at 2 a.m. Although he had plans to buy a crossbow, Geiger also said that shopping isn’t the reason that he’s always out early on Black Friday.

“I’m out every year, except for the COVID years,” he said. “It’s mostly for the camaraderie. You get to chat with a lot of nice people.”

On Friday, that included James Brunick, 53, of Daytona Beach, another Black Friday regular standing just behind Geiger at the front of the line. He had postponed a planned hunting trip to Georgia to take advantage of Bass Pro’s deal on the Axis II hunting rifle.

“I was supposed to be up there last night,” he said. “I told my buddies, ‘I’m not going to make it, I need to go pick up some cheap guns.’”

When the doors opened, shoppers were greeted by Todd Blanchard, the store's general manager. For Blanchard, some of the Black Friday early-birds were familiar faces, including Brunick.

“I see him once every couple months, if not more,” Blanchard said. “We definitely have our loyal group of local customers that we see on a regular basis.”

Blanchard said he is optimistic about the upcoming holiday shopping season, partly because many supply chain issues and other complications of the COVID-era have faded. The pandemic’s impact on retail has been significant, he said.

How retailers coped in 2021: Volusia retailers optimistic about Black Friday shopping

“So much has changed in the retail industry,” Blanchard said. “When COVID came, the shift to online shopping was significant, but the shift to the outdoor market also was significant. That has introduced us to a whole new demographic and we expect them to keep coming back. We’re thankful and hopeful that it continues.”

More shoppers starting early

Nationwide, 46% of shoppers started buying holiday gifts before November, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.

The NRF’s forecast predicts that holiday retail sales nationally will reach between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion, an increase of 6%-8% over the 2021 shopping season. Consumers will spend an average of $832.84 on gifts and holiday items including decorations and food, the forecast states.

Gift cards remain the top gift, with 54% of shoppers putting them at the top of their wish lists. Other top gifts include clothing and accessories (49%); books and other media (30%); and electronics (24%).

At Volusia Mall, only about two dozen shoppers were waiting when the doors opened at 6 a.m. Friday, but store managers there expected bigger crowds to arrive later in the day.

“The bigger retailers start the sales online so early, so there’s no sense of urgency today, for right now,” said Travis White, store manager at Maui Nix Surf Shop. “People used to line up because everyone had the same start time. We’re expecting a good day today. We’ve got lots of product; we’re ready to go.”

The outlook also was optimistic at Destination Fun, the independently owned toy store at Tanger Outlets mall, where the outdoor walkways were crowded with bag-toting shoppers early Friday.

“Things are going good, really good,” said store owner Kevin Kasch. “We had about a dozen people lined up at the door when we opened. We’re expecting a really good holiday season.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Black Friday shopping draws early-birds to Tanger, Volusia Mall, more