Black Friday hours
Store openings may be subject to change.
SHOPPING MALLS
The Greene Town Center in Beavercreek: Mall hours are from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with more than 30 stores opening before 8 a.m. American Eagle, Children’s Place, Express, Gap and Old Navy will open at midnight. Visit TheGreene.com for all stores that will open before 8 a.m.
The Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek: The mall will open at 6 a.m. However, several stores will open between midnight and 6 a.m. Visit www.mallatfairfieldcommons.com for a complete list of stores that will open early.
The Dayton Mall: More than 30 stores will open at midnight. Visit daytonmall.com for details.
MAJOR RETAILERS
Best Buy, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Target: All open at midnight
Toys “R” Us: 9 p.m. on Thursday
Walmart: 10 p.m. on Thursday
Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, has more trimmings this year than the most ornate of Thanksgiving feasts.
The details are mind-boggling at times.
Ads are being leaked on such deal sites as blackfriday.com, bfads.net and blackfriday2011.com – and even by retailers as they scramble to out-do their competitors.
The messages are mixed.
Experts are predicting a ho-hum season, with U.S. shoppers planning to spend an average of $704.18 on holiday gifts and seasonal goods this year, according to the National Retail Federation, down nearly 2.1 percent from the $718.98 they spent last year.
Yet Ohio retailers might see the best holiday sales in five years.
The workers at one retail giant are revolting.
Target employees are petitioning against their employer’s decision to open at midnight on Black Friday.
The drama is enough to make the most stalwart holiday shopper swoon.
To help you navigate your way safely and smartly through Black Friday this year, we offer a handy guide for the historic shopping day.
Know the hours
Expect more stores to announce earlier hours, as Black Friday increasingly bleeds into what we might call Gray Thursday.
Toys “R” Us, for instance, will open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving, an hour earlier than last year and, thus far, the earliest of any retailer this year.
Walmart will open at 10 p.m. Thursday, two hours ahead of its midnight opening in 2010.
Macy’s Inc., for the first time, is opening all its namesake stores at midnight.
Appliance and electronics retailer HHGregg Inc. recently announced it would open its doors at midnight and stay open through 9 p.m. on Black Friday.
Kohl’s and Best Buy have also planned midnight openings.
Expect to be courted
Merchants are aggressively trying to create incentives to lure shoppers to make extra purchases, according to Kyle James, shopping expert and editor of www.rather-be-shopping.com.
At The Greene Town Center in Beavercreek, for instance, five iPads will be given away on Black Friday, with one winner per hour from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Visit www.TheGreene.com for details.)
Most shopping centers will supply coffee and baked goods to sleep-deprived shoppers.
But the real delights will be found in the stores.
Here are a few ways to stay on top of all the super savings Black Friday promises:
Use search engines such as the ones listed earlier.
Keep abreast of shopping promotions in the newspaper.
Visit your favorite retailer’s website often to stay current.
Execute a plan
According to survey by CouponCabin.com. 35 percent of adults plan to shop in stores or online this Black Friday.
Black Friday is familiar terrain for Jill Wallace of Washington Township, who considers it “a national holiday.”
It’s a shopping tradition she enthusiastically shares with daughter Courtney, husband Scott and her mother. Marilou Miller.
“Last year was the first year Courtney and I were up all night,” explains Wallace. “She and I had gone through all the ads, and then we headed out about 1 a.m. in the morning and we went to Kohl’s.
“We try to hit the bigger box stores first and then we hit the specialty stores. And we really do shop all day.”
In her experience, Wallace finds the best deals on Black Friday are for electronics, apparel and such gift sets as perfume or candles. James concurs with her observation.
Wallace’s advice to Black Friday newbies: Scour the ads and map out your route.
To make it easier to find your way on Black Friday, download Apple’s free FastMall app that allows you to find, then be guided turn by turn to restrooms, stores and restaurants at shopping malls around the world–without using GPS or WIFI.
Joy Kemp of Bellbrook has been a Black Friday shopper for several years and her strategy is slick.
She compiles a list of gifts to purchase and also a budget before she ventures out. Kohl’s will be her first store.
“I don’t vary from the ad,” she says. “I stick with whatever is in the ad.”
Meanwhile, Kemp’s husband John will stand in line for hours before a store, usually one specializing in electronics, opens to nail the best deal.
No matter how seductive you might find an offer, don’t make the dangerous detour from your holiday budget.
Explains James: Make a list, a budget and stick with a plan, otherwise you will be feeling sticker shock in January.
“And the whole shopping high has subsided and you’re in debt.”
Share your holiday-shopping ideas by calling (937) 225-0671 or emailing rmcmacken@DaytonDailyNews.com. Follow the Deals and Steals blog at DaytonDailyNews.com/go/bargains.
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