High school student McKenzie Johnson of Miamisburg got one of the $100 of $100 coupons. She and her family were in line before 1 p.m. today for the 2 p.m. opening.
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“I thought I read it wrong. I thought it was just $10 off $10 so I had to re-look at it,” she said. “We’re going to share it.”
Johnson and her family were shopping for gifts, donations and a few things for themselves. The trip was part of a family tradition that includes Black Friday shopping every year.
Jill Kelly, 21, also lined up around 12:30 p.m. for the coupon and to shop for gifts.
“We usually come out after our Thanksgiving dinner, but this year we’re out before because we don’t have Thanksgiving until 4 p.m. We usually try to go at midnight on Black Friday but stores open so early this year that we’re going earlier,” Kelly said.
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While the line was wrapped around the building and JCPenney gave out all of its more than 700 coupons by 2:15 p.m., the line was still probably shorter this year than last, said the store’s manager Myles Parker.
But that doesn’t mean the store is lacking in sales, he said. A team of employees was working Thursday before the store opened to fulfill a rush of online orders, which was a large increase over last year, he said.
Usually the Thanksgiving sales end on Black Friday, but this year they’ll extend through Saturday, Myles said. The store expects a major increase in foot traffic that day.
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