Black Friday draws crowds to standalone stores, few morning shoppers at Cross Creek Mall
Black Friday shopping in Fayetteville began early for some, with some shoppers lining up outside in the rain as early as 3:30 a.m, while Cross Creek Mall saw little traffic at opening.
Some of the earliest opening stores, such as JCPenney and Old Navy, opened their doors to shoppers at 5 a.m.
At 4:30 a.m., about 100 people had lined up in the rain around the block outside Best Buy on Skibo Road.
Most of those lined up outside Best Buy declined to give their name or talk about what items they hoped to get their hands on, and some worried about spoiling the surprise for those they were shopping for.
One man close to the front of the line, who said he was shopping for his family, said that most stores, including Best Buy, had not told the public what they would have in stock for Black Friday shoppers.
"It's pretty much all under wraps," he said.
He said he arrived at about 3:45 a.m. hoping to beat the crowds.
More: Fayetteville Black Friday 2021: Most stores closed Thanksgiving, but shoppers ready for Friday
About a mile away at Dick's Sporting Goods, also opening at 5 a.m., no shoppers were lined up outside, and only a few cars were in the parking lot.
Next door at Field & Stream, however, a couple of dozen cars idled in the parking lot at about 4:50 a.m., waiting for the outdoor goods retailer to open its doors at 5 a.m.
Less than two miles away at the Skibo Road Walmart, a crowd of about 75 shoppers had lined up in the rain and poured into the store right at 5 a.m., joined by newcomers walking in from their cars and arriving just after the store opened.
While Cross Creek Mall did not open until 7 a.m., some mall stores with exterior entrances like JCPenney and Macy's opened their doors to shoppers as early as 5 a.m.
About 5:30 a.m., individual and small groups of shoppers stopped by JCPenney for the possibility of early morning deals just 30 minutes after the retailer opened.
A couple hundred feet away, no shoppers were lined up outside Macy's, opening at 6 a.m.
Most of the rain had subsided by about 6 a.m. in the Cross Creek Mall area, making waiting in line outside more attractive to potential Black Friday shoppers.
Target, which opened at 7 a.m., began attracting customers at about 6:10 a.m., when about 20 people lined up within 5 minutes of one another.
By the time the store opened, the line had grown to about 100 along the side of the building.
Despite the early morning crowds at standalone stores near Skibo Road, there were only a few shoppers at Cross Creek Mall when it opened at 7 a.m.
Foot traffic slightly increased in the hour after opening, but much of the mall remained mostly empty as the morning continued, a departure from previous years in which Black Friday drew large crowds to the mall in the early hours of the morning.
Crime Reporter Jack Boden can be reached at jboden@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jackboden5.
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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Rainy Black Friday does not deter some Fayetteville shoppers
