As the sun rose and set Thanksgiving Thursday, droves of Big Islanders and visitors from afar took to West Hawaii stores in search of holiday deals. And, they continued to do so Friday.
Black Friday, which has melded into a two-day event spanning Thanksgiving Day and the day after, kicked off bright and early at 6 a.m. Thursday when the Kona Kmart opened its doors to some 150 people who quickly snapped up electronics, fresh Christmas trees, sporting goods and toys, said Kmart Store Manager Robert O’Meara. When the store reopened after closing between 5 and 7 p.m., some 300 people were waiting outside, many of them returning from picking up deals earlier in the day.
“It’s a good start to a short season,” O’Meara said, explaining that with Thanksgiving, and thus Black Friday, coming so late this year, retailers have fewer sales days before Christmas morning is here. “It was bigger than expected.
Sales were off to a good start Thursday night, he said, noting that even as store manager, he was surprised by some of the price points offered by the big-box-retailer, such as an artificial 6-foot tree for just $19.99. He also expressed several times appreciation for his employees working extra hours on the Thanksgiving holiday.
Jin A. Kim, accompanied by several friends, were first in line waiting for the doors at Target to open at 8 p.m. Thursday. The trio, who are South Koreans attending the University of the Nations in Kailua-Kona, arrived at 1:30 p.m. to ensure they were able to purchase two sought-after items, a Nikon DSLR camera and an iPad.
“We don’t have Black Friday (in South Korea), we just shop, but the deals are worth it,” she said, noting that they may have arrived a little early since the next shoppers didn’t arrive to line up until about 3:30 p.m. It was their first-ever Black Friday event and they succeeded, having both the camera and Apple product in hand within minutes.
Hundreds of people snaked around the Kona Target — stretching all the way to Loloku Street — minutes before Store Manager Roger Thomas opened the retailer’s doors to the many smiling, anxious and cheerful customers sharing Thanksgiving greetings. They quickly made their way through the store in search of such deals as a 50-inch TV for just $229.
It took a full 17 minutes — three minutes of which people were entering through two doors — for the line to wind down.
“It’s way better. There’s more (people) than last year,” Thomas said, noting that Target opened its doors at 9 p.m. in 2012. “It’s certainly a great indicator of how the holiday season is going to go, despite it being a shorter (sales) year.”
The big sellers this year, like many years, Thomas said, were TVs, and other smaller electronic items like cameras, the iPad, the iPod and the Xbox.
Val Kalahiki of Honaunau lined up at Target around 5:30 p.m., snagging a ticket for one of the $228 50-inch TVs. However, opening at 8 p.m. was a little early, she said.
“Having it this early made me a little upset,” said Kalahiki, who would prefer perhaps a midnight opening, but also wanted the TV deal this year. “It’s a little too early for me.”
Others agreed that it was early, but the deals on items — especially an iPod for a teenager — got them out.
“It takes over the holiday, but I’m here,” said Lisa Nolder, a Kailua-Kona resident who arrived at Target around 7:15 p.m.
At Macy’s, the hot items were shoes, especially Rampage boots, which sold out in about an hour after opening at 8 p.m., home goods, clothing, cosmetics and jewelry.
Sports Authority, located in Kona Commons, opened its doors two hours before Target around 6 p.m. to a line more than 200 people long, said Alvin Tayo, store manager. He said the sales looked as though they were kicking off a good holiday sales season and the chance to win a $500 gift card, which had to be spent Thursday, was drawing people in.
“Better than expected,” Tayo said of the turnout shortly before 8 p.m., just after loading a gun safe into a customer’s pickup truck. “It was a big turnout.”
Big sellers this year at the full-line sporting goods chain included big game tables, hunting equipment and an array of fitness and exercise-related items, such as clothing and treadmills.
Sales continued to be “steady” on Friday, Tayo said, adding that when the store reopened at 6 a.m. Friday approximately 100 people were ready to shop.
Kmart’s O’Meara said the store continued to be busy with sales going “very good” as of Friday afternoon. There was a good showing when the store opened its doors to customers again at 6 a.m. Friday, but not as many as Thursday. He noted it’s likely many shoppers who normally go out Friday morning had hit the Thursday sales.
Shoppers on Hawaii Island joined the millions of people across the country who lined the sidewalks Thursday to stock up on discounted toys, laptops, apparel and more, according to the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association representing retailers of all sizes.
The federation said early reports show the Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday sales are “breaking new records.” The retail trade association will release its final survey findings on the sales days during a media briefing slated for Monday.
An estimated 140 million people were expected to shop — online and in stores — this four-day holiday weekend. Last year, over the same period, the average shopper spent $423.
“The key take away at this point is that the real winners are in fact the consumers, who are recognizing more savings through competitive pricing and great promotions being offered in every category,” said Matthew Shay, the federation’s president and CEO. “If there was any question this morning (Friday) as to whether the Thanksgiving shopping tradition still resonates with Americans, we can simply look at the news coming from those who opened their doors to millions of eager shoppers last night (Thursday).”
The federation estimated in October that holiday sales would increase by some 3.9 percent this year to $602 billion — that’s over the 3.5 percent growth notched during the 2012 holiday sales season. It noted that the holiday season often account for approximately 20 percent to 40 percent of a retailer’s annual sales.
West Hawaii Today was unable to reach Roger Thomas, store manager at Target, for a follow-up interview regarding sales as of press time Friday.