Springfield Black Friday shoppers brave cold temperatures, stand in line for deals
About 4:30 a.m. Friday found Emily Heminghous and Mason Ryherd standing in line outside of Best Buy in White Oaks Plaza.
The Springfield couple had a singular focus: try to find an XBox Series X game console.
"They're so hard to get hold of right now," Ryherd said. "You either have to stalk online to wait for them not to be sold out and snag one or try this."
Heminghous admitted their plan was "a roll of the dice."
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Then Heminghous, noting the temperature hovering around 18 degrees, let out a sigh.
"The things I do for love," she said. "This is not for me. This is definitely for him."
The temperature and the prevalence of online shopping may have made for some less than robust crowds, especially at opening time.
About 30 people were in line when Best Buy opened its doors at 5 a.m. About the same size crowd had formed at Kohl's for its 5 a.m. opening further north in White Oaks Plaza.
White Oaks Mall opened to shoppers at 6 a.m. after being closed for Thanksgiving.
Springfield Police Lt. Jason Brands said at mid-morning Friday things were "pretty tame" traffic-wise around the mall area and on Veterans Parkway. While extra police patrols weren't called in, personnel in the area are more attentive to traffic issues, Brands added.
Some downtown Springfield stores, like Dumb Records and Recycled Records, also had special store hours Friday.
The Old Capitol Holiday Walks kick off on Small Business Saturday. Activities include Springfield Memorial Hospital's Festival of Trees, carriage rides and the LRS Ice Skating Rink. The downtown tree lighting takes place on the Old State Capitol Plaza (east end of the plaza in front of the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office and the city's Visitors Center) at 4:30 p.m.
More: Memorial Health set to debut new holiday festival Saturday in downtown Springfield
Eli Higgins, joined by his friends Maxwell Larson and Carter Eads, all from Springfield, said he was "surprised" more people weren't in line at Best Buy. The trio, which had decided to make the shopping venture Thanksgiving evening, arrived at the store at 3 a.m. anticipating a crowd.
Michael and Amanda Sosa of Loami have been doing Black Friday shopping for years. Toys and clothes for the couple's five children specifically brought them out Friday.
"And possibly a vacuum cleaner," Amanda Sosa added.
Michael Sosa admitted it was probably "smarter and safer" to shop online.
"You don't have to get up in the morning and deal with the crowds and all the traffic," he said. "Shopping in-store, when it comes to certain items, you have to see for yourself, but for the most part, shopping online is probably the way to go."
Chelsea Taylor of Springfield said she also expected more people to be out shopping, though she admitted that it has been a while since she was out on Black Friday.
Taylor and Nate Hillyer were looking for a chair for a gaming room they just put in their home that has become a hangout for friends.
"In prior years, granted COVID-19 changes everything, there were lines down to Pet Smart and Dollar Tree, so I was like, do I come early?" Taylor said. "Then we get here and it was like, this isn't so bad.
"I don't understand how people (camp out) especially this time of year. About 98 percent of my shopping is done online, so this is my getaway from the online stuff."
Heminghous admitted she hadn't shopped before on Black Friday in person, although she admitted she is more of an in-person shopper.
"Online is convenient, but I don't trust my ability to look online," Heminghous said.
"I think the in-person shopping is only worth it if you're willing to get up and get there early so you're not gambling even more (that something isn't there)," Ryherd added. "Online (shopping) is if you're looking for stuff that isn't going to get snatched up within five minutes of people coming into the store."
Keegan Norris came up to Springfield with a group of friends from Taylorville. Norris, who was also shopping for a gaming console, said he had fun last year doing the Black Friday shopping in Taylorville and wanted to replicate it this year.
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After Best Buy, Norris said he and his friends were going to White Oaks Mall and then "home to sleep."
A long line of customers greeted Dumb Records owner Brian Galecki before the store's 8 a.m. opening for Record Store Day. Galecki said it took him about an hour to get customers in because of store limits due to COVID-19.
"This is pretty comparable to Record Store Days we had back in June and July," said Galecki, who was also expecting a big Saturday turnout for the downtown Holiday Walk.
Among Friday's big sellers, Galecki said, was Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit's "Georgia Blue."
Lezlie Wofford opted for a Miles Davis vinyl record. Wofford, who grew up in Springfield and now lives in Kansas City where she teaches seventh-grade math, was visiting family for Thanksgiving.
"I'd rather support the independent than the big box store," Wofford said. "Always."
At a busy White Oaks Mall, a public relations manager said some stores were monitoring numbers of customers due to COVID-19 based on specific corporate guidelines.
"Individual retailers may have their own guidelines to follow," said Lori Kiel, director of marketing and business development. "Depending on their square footage, they might have 30 to 50 shoppers in their store at a time because some stores are smaller and others are larger that can accommodate bigger crowds."
Mall guests are required to wear masks in the mall, Kiel said. Additional hand sanitizer stations have been placed throughout the mall, including all entrances and near the escalators.
This story will be updated.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Cold temperatures don't stop Black Friday shoppers in Springfield
