KAILUA-KONA — At 5:30 Thanksgiving evening, some Big Islanders were probably sleeping off their yearly dose of tryptophan after indulging in the biggest meal of the year.
But for another breed, the hunt for bargains outweighed the desire to relax.
Kaleo and Kelsi Moses were the first customers in line at the Kona Target, when they arrived from Hilo at 2 p.m. Surprised at their spot in line, they settled in for the four-hour wait.
“It gives us a chance to hit up all the different stores,” Kaleo Moses said about the reason they came to Kona in pursuit of the best deals.
They were joined by scores more who waited outside of Target for the doors to open, which created a festive atmosphere around the big box retailer. The line snaked around the building all the way to Loloku Street and employees were handing out vouchers for big ticket items and making sure the customers were happy.
“Spread the aloha when you go in,” Guest Service Assistant Bryce Teraoka, who went up and down the line, told the crowd.
And when Target General Manager Mike Gustafson decided to open the doors a few minutes early, the crowd cheered and whistled. Then, the seemingly endless single file line of bargain hunters streamed through the doors — most seemed headed straight for the electronics department, lists clutched in hand — and the aisles were soon full of carts navigating the maze of merchandise.
“We’re just cruising,” said Fallon Paiva of Honokaa, who at the time had a cart filled with kids rather than actual items for sale. “Didn’t come for anything special, just looking around.”
“It’s all for the kids, anyway,” she added before disappearing back into the sea of shoppers.
Frank Costa and Bridget Perez filled two carts with the items they wanted and were out of the store in less than a half hour.
“This is kinda crazy,” said Costa. “I miss the Black Friday on Friday, but you got to go on the day the sales are best.”
Still, some shoppers opted to do their shopping the old fashioned way. They stayed in on Thursday and waited until Friday to hit the sales.
“Thursday is turkey day,” said Erica Van Pelt, who came down to Macy’s from Waimea Friday with her daughter.
Thanksgiving Day, she said, was for “family, food and football.” The shopping could wait a day.
They came to Macy’s looking for deals, specifically on clothes. She said she’s not necessarily shopping for gifts, saying she plans do do most of her gift shopping online.
“There’s usually pretty good prices, free shipping,” she said of the one source of shopping that is credited each year for chipping away at the volume of shoppers who come out each time.
Black Friday started in 1939, after the nation’s largest retailers sent Franklin D. Roosevelt a plea to urge Americans to shop the day after Thanksgiving because the holiday fell on the last day of November that year, giving merchants too few days before Christmas to unleash the season’s sales.
Phil Beck, a student from Hilo, was also on the hunt for good deals.
“Maybe a TV, clothes, just whatever,” he said.
This was his first time Black Friday shopping.
“I just wanted to experience it, I guess,” he said.
Not all of Friday’s shoppers were out enjoying the day. While the national shopping day has become a quasi-holiday in its own right, some people find the rush to buy things and energy required to navigate the crowds unappealing.
“This is so ridiculous,” said Holualoa resident Sarah Curtis as she stood in the Macy’s parking lot.
Curtis came to Macy’s with her mom to find some home furnishings for their new home. After a couple hours though, she said most of her time was being spent in line.
She won’t be coming back next year for Black Friday. She said they spent 45 minutes at one register and then even longer at a second register before she gave up and came outside and waited for her mom to finish up.
“I’m done with it,” she said she told her mom before heading outside. “This has already taken too much out of me.”