Retailers see longer-lasting Black Friday crowds
Hopeful buyers wait in a line outside Best Buy at Roosevelt Field. (Nov. 22, 2012) Credit: Howard Schnapp
Retailers at the Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City benefited from so many stores opening at midnight, seeing the initial rush of shoppers last longer.
At Macy's, the initial heavy flood of shoppers continued from midnight until about 1:30 a.m., but this year the store continued to be packed until about 3 a.m., said Dennis Witte, district vice president of Long Island West.
“I think it helped that the whole mall was open,” Witte said, “because it kept people shopping here.”
Retailers like Abercrombie and Hollister drew large Black Friday crowds by offering 50 percent off the entire store until 6 p.m. Discounts are rare at both stores.
Mall security used line control to manage the large crowd, guiding shoppers into lines and monitoring them to maintain order.
“I think the apparel stores really took advantage of the early morning crowds,” said Kathleen Herrmann, area director of mall marketing for Roosevelt Field.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
