Bucks County, Montco shoppers score big Black Friday deals as holiday season begins

A little fog and drizzle couldn't stop the throngs of Black Friday shoppers who got an early start before dawn Friday to find some great deals on holiday gifts. Many were shopping veterans for whom the experience is a much-loved tradition.

At the Target in Middletown, five family members wearing holiday headgear and t-shirts saying "Buckle Up, Buttercup: Black Friday Isn't for Sissies," made one of their first stops. Joy Waite, the smallest of the group is their Elf on the Shelf. They photograph her in every store they visit and post the photos on Facebook for other relatives to see.

"I've even climbed into the store windows," Waite said.

Stephanie Napoli of Lower Makefield carried her 17-month old daughter, Audriana, into Target for their second Black Friday mom and daughter shopping excursion. The toddler waved "bye," as she wanted to get going into the store.

Visting Bucks County from Athens, Georgia, Christina Crowe, with her daughters and sister, smiled as they left the Kohl's store in Lower Makefield where they snatched up Barbie dolls for $5.

At the nearby Starbucks in Lower Makefield, Molly Brzezinski and her daughter, Lindsey, 13, waited to make a purchase with many other early morning shoppers. "We fuel up on coffee and then head down to Dick's and Best Buy," Molly said of the nearby shopping center.

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Joshua Downs of Northeast Philadelphia also was making a pit stop at the Starbucks with other family members. The young man admitted he was "technically" Black Friday shopping "for pajama pants for my brother." The group was going to go to several stores but that was the one thing he knew he needed to buy.

The National Retail Federation estimates that 166.3 million Americans will do some shopping from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, 8 million more than last year.

“While there is much speculation about inflation’s impact on consumer behavior, our data tells us that this Thanksgiving holiday weekend will see robust store traffic with a record number of shoppers taking advantage of value pricing,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “We are optimistic that retail sales will remain strong in the weeks ahead, and retailers are ready to meet consumers however they want to shop with great products at prices they want to pay.”

Business was bustling at the Target in Middletown, which opened at 7 a.m. Front-end Manager Eddie Ibarra said store employees who arrived as early as midnight to set up for the big day said they could see shoppers lining up for the store to open. Popular items for purchase included electronics and winter clothing.

Dina Balamucki of Middletown stopped to look at some board games on sale before heading to the back of the store for deals on electronic games.

At nearby Pet Smart, Janet Tessel of Lower Makefield stocked up on some Black Friday specials for her four cats. "I come for kitty litter and scratch pads," she said. And she had already been to Best Buy to get a battery pack for her cellphone.

Daniel Riben of Lower Makefield said he enjoys the "fracas" of Black Friday. But this year, he didn't think the crowds were as large as they used to be.

The COVID crisis reduced the number of people working in stores and so retailers have spread out the specials over the past week or two. "They don't want the big rush because they haven't the staff," he said as he headed into Target.

At Oxford Valley Mall, the stores were busy but not overcrowded despite some hefty discounts.

Nicole Wagner of Fairless Hills and other family members made some purchases at JC Penney before heading down to the Walmart store in Levittown where they were going to buy $1,500 in toys with the help of the Middletown police for distribution to children in need. She conducts a toy drive each year in memory of her son, Kanan, who was three months old when he passed away a few years ago.

"MIddletown police officers are helping us. They're pulling up with their paddy wagons and we're just loading them up with all the toys we buy today," she said.

While many people shop online, store shopping hasn't gone out of style and Black Friday remains the most popular day to shop, the retail federation states. Among the 114.9 million Black Friday shoppers, 67% say they expect to head to stores, up from 64% in 2021.

And what do they plan to buy?

"The top five gift categories consumers plan to give are clothing (55%), followed by gift cards at 45%, toys at 37%, books/music/movies/video games at 33% and food/candy at 31%," the NRF states.

The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet video game is a hot seller this year but the GameStop store in Neshaminy Mall had received a good supply, said the store manager, Shawn. He still had some in stock around noon, though he said he couldn't guarantee there would be any left by later in the day on Black Friday.

At Boscov's, the anchor store at the mall, the aisles were crowded with customers. Deborah Chagin of Philadelphia was taking it all in. She didn't have to cook or cleanup Thanksgiving dinner this year so she and her husband, John, headed to the mall Friday, "this is my first time shopping on Black Friday," she said. "We love shopping at Boscov's."

Store Manager Mike Fanelli said the store is well-stocked and Boscov's has been doing an aggressive pricing campaign so the prices are good.

At the candy counter, new employee Janice Mangini was all smiles as she helped customers. "How could you not be happy," she asked when buying chocolates and other sugary treats.

Fanelli said the store offers free wrapping paper, bows and boxes, and several different organizations are offering to wrap gifts for people during the holiday season, collecting contributions for their charitable work in the process. Friday afternoon, the Snyder Middle School PTO in Bensalem was on wrapping duty.

"People are having fun. That's what's so nice," Fanelli said about Black Friday. "It's a really good vibe in the store. Yes, we're busy but it's still fun...We're doing very well."

More:Bucks County police giving back with 'Shop with a Cop' events this holiday season

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: 'Buckle up' for another busy Black Friday at Bucks County stores