Many Tysons Corners shops opened their doors at midnight on Thanksgiving, to allow those shoppers hunting for Black Friday deals an extra five hours of savings. Shoppers and store managers talk about the rush, their shopping lists, and the economy.
By J. Freedom du Lac, Jia Lynn Yang and Donna St. George
Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, November 26, 2010; 1:16 PM
Mall parking lots filled, traffic backed up and customers searched for discounts in the Washington region on Black Friday, as streams of shoppers supported industry predictions that consumers would come out in droves this year.
At Tysons Corner Center, there were discounts, discounts everywhere: 20, 30, 40 and 50 percent off "everything," "the entire store," "your entire purchase" until 10, 11, noon, the end of business, Sunday.
At Aeropostale, everything but the fixtures was 50 to 70 percent off, all day. "And you get one of these if you spend at least $100," a greeter explained as he held up a stuffed bear in an Aero-branded hoodie. Victoria's Secret was running a buy-one-get-one-half-off bra deal. Even White Smile was offering a Black Friday deal: half off your teeth-whitening treatment.
"I bought more than I expected to," said David Roman, a 29-year-old Washingtonian who was clutching bags in both hands, from Eddie Bauer, Express, Macy's and more. "There were a lot of good deals."
Roman figured he'd spent about $400, mostly on clothes. His friend, Emiliano Tellado, 29, racked up $500 in purchases. ("You can buy some good volume at Express," he said.)
Gifts? Not exactly. "This is for me," Roman said. "And," Tellado said, "this is all for me. I'd been meaning to do some shopping." And then Black Friday came, and they came and shopped and spent. And Tellado's wife was still spending: She was in line at Eddie Bauer, making one last buy before lunch.
Shoppers are expected to spend an average of $688.87 during the holidays this year, a nominal increase from last year's $681.83, according to the National Retail Federation.
While sparks of an economic recovery have seemingly reignited the desire to shop, many consumers continue to exercise some measure of restraint.
"Money is still pretty tight," said Ralph Miller of Woodbridge, standing outside Toys 'A Million at Potomac Mills with his wife, Anne, a little after midnight. "Thing aren't as bad as they were, but they could be better." The pair were looking for deals on clothes and electronics for their four children, who ranged in age from 9 to 25. Adults in the Miller family, Ralph explained, traditionally drew names to keep the holiday spending to a minimum.
Cynthia Sherin had a list of 35 people for whom to buy presents, but she had started saving her $1,000 budget since the last Black Friday.
Visiting nearby relatives from Fayetteville, N.C., Sherin came armed to Potomac Mills with a store-by-store plan. At about 1 a.m. she stood outside Radio Shack holding a circular advertising the Bluetooth on her extensive list.
"I checked a few other stores, but they had the best deal," she said. To make things go a little faster, Sherin even clipped out pictures of the pair of boots she wants so "the salespeople can just point me in the right direction."
Black Friday made shoppers out of families. For the Rushings, it was driven by the abundant enthusiasm of 16-year-old Askari Rushing, of Northwest D.C., who had convinced his mother, sister and brother-in-law to jump into the yearly pre-dawn fray.
The teen had pleaded for a bigger mall and an earlier hour. The compromise: Montgomery Mall at 4 a.m.
As the foursome walked out of Abercrombie and Fitch a couple of hours later, his mother, Delores, could not help but note with a laugh that the experience was a little lopsided. "The mother's carrying all the bags and spending all the money," she said.
"This is my first Black Friday," Askari said happily.
His older sister, Amani Rushing, 29, mused that maybe the rush of buying was not all about the holiday, but partly a reaction to the long economic downturn. "I wonder if people are shopping for Christmas or whether they are buying themselves a few luxuries they've really been denying themselves."
Those who didn't get such an early start found themselves stuck in traffic backed up on southound Route 270 near Democracy Boulevard as shoppers waited near the entrance of Montgomery Mall, where parking lots appeared to be largely filled by noon.
By mid-morning at Tysons Corner Center, as the dust settled following the predawn-doorbuster frenzy, it looked more like a typical weekend at the mall: busy and crowded but not quite a chaotic cattle call. (Five Guys, in the food court, was a different, more densely packed story as the lunch hour arrived.)
Banana Republic closed its doors at noon, when its 40 percent off sale ended with at least 100 customers still in the store. "We'll reopen at 1, with another, good promotion," an employee said.
One could also shop for a job at Tysons, too. Auntie Anne's was hiring pretzel-rollers and cashiers. And West Elm, the upscale home decor shop at Tysons, had a "now hiring" sign posted at the door, with merchandising and sales positions for the taking.
Glorious Bazemore was on her way to work Friday morning when she decided to take just a quick peek inside the Best Buy in Columbia Heights.
"My family and friends tell me I need to have Blu-Ray," she said. Now, she will.
Bazemore, a 59-year-old Petworth resident, had three players stacked in her cart. One for her bedroom, another for her den, and a third for her basement - when she's done fixing it up.
A Best Buy salesman was checking the price of a surround system to go with her new gadgets. He returned. It was $397, down from $600. "That's a really good deal," he said.
Sold. Bazemore added it to her haul, but said she's only looking for good bargains and she might pull back on her gift spending this year. "I'm monitoring how I spend. I can't just buy food just to have food. I have to use it all," she said, adding she's sure to pay off her bills every month to avoid late fees.
The Best Buy was the most bustling store at the DC USA shopping center, with a steady stream of people walking out with big-screen TVs. Others were rifling through boxes of discounted DVDs.
But at the Bed, Bath & Beyond next door, employees practically outnumbered shoppers. Target was emptier than it is on a typical Sunday. There were no long lines at the checkout area. In the linens section, one man gestured at some sheets and asked an employee whether they were on sale. They weren't, and he sauntered off.
At Montgomery Mall, the shoppers came in waves. In the 6 a.m. hour, Samantha Dummann, 24, of Olney, arrived with her mother, Maria, 56, and her mother's friend, Diane Chupka, 57, on a serious mall excursion - so that by 8 a.m. they had already delivered more than 10 heavy bags into the car and were breakfasting in the food court, as they prepared for another round.
Samantha, drinking her second large iced mocha of the day, was not accustomed to the early hour, she said, but pleased by her bargains, which included a great deal on a watch. She was not really spending more than last year, she said, but "I'm giving more to people because I'm making out."
Customer Adele Richer went to sleep on Thanksgiving intending not to do any Black Friday shopping.
"I got roped into this," she said Friday morning at Tysons Corner Center. The 46-year-old from Baltimore was standing outside Garage, a girls clothing store, with four shopping bags at her feet: Lego, Macy's, Urban Outfitters and Bakers. "I had no intention of spending anything today."
Explain, please. "My brother lives in Fairfax, and every year, his family gets up at 4," Richer said. She'd planned on hearing all about this year's excursion to the region's largest mall when everybody got home. "But my daughter woke me up at 4," she said.
So here she was, hundreds of dollars later in gift purchases for her family and, um . . .others. "I bought perfume, a watch, these really cool over-the knee black boots - those are for me," she said. They were from Bakers, the shoe store. They were not on her holiday shopping list.
"When a chick goes by a shoe store, it's over," she said. "Those boots were calling to me, crying, saying, 'Take me home.' "
At Aeropostale, everything but the fixtures was 50 to 70 percent off, all day. "And you get one of these if you spend at least $100," a greeter explained as he held up a stuffed bear in an Aero-branded hoodie. Victoria's Secret was running a buy-one-get-one-half-off bra deal. Even White Smile was offering a Black Friday deal: half off your teeth-whitening treatment.
"I bought more than I expected to," said David Roman, a 29-year-old Washingtonian who was clutching bags in both hands, from Eddie Bauer, Express, Macy's and more. "There were a lot of good deals."
Roman figured he'd spent about $400, mostly on clothes. His friend, Emiliano Tellado, 29, racked up $500 in purchases. ("You can buy some good volume at Express," he said.)
Gifts? Not exactly. "This is for me," Roman said. "And," Tellado said, "this is all for me. I'd been meaning to do some shopping." And then Black Friday came, and they came and shopped and spent. And Tellado's wife was still spending: She was in line at Eddie Bauer, making one last buy before lunch.
Shoppers are expected to spend an average of $688.87 during the holidays this year, a nominal increase from last year's $681.83, according to the National Retail Federation.
While sparks of an economic recovery have seemingly reignited the desire to shop, many consumers continue to exercise some measure of restraint.
"Money is still pretty tight," said Ralph Miller of Woodbridge, standing outside Toys 'A Million at Potomac Mills with his wife, Anne, a little after midnight. "Thing aren't as bad as they were, but they could be better." The pair were looking for deals on clothes and electronics for their four children, who ranged in age from 9 to 25. Adults in the Miller family, Ralph explained, traditionally drew names to keep the holiday spending to a minimum.
Cynthia Sherin had a list of 35 people for whom to buy presents, but she had started saving her $1,000 budget since the last Black Friday.
Visiting nearby relatives from Fayetteville, N.C., Sherin came armed to Potomac Mills with a store-by-store plan. At about 1 a.m. she stood outside Radio Shack holding a circular advertising the Bluetooth on her extensive list.
"I checked a few other stores, but they had the best deal," she said. To make things go a little faster, Sherin even clipped out pictures of the pair of boots she wants so "the salespeople can just point me in the right direction."
Black Friday made shoppers out of families. For the Rushings, it was driven by the abundant enthusiasm of 16-year-old Askari Rushing, of Northwest D.C., who had convinced his mother, sister and brother-in-law to jump into the yearly pre-dawn fray.
The teen had pleaded for a bigger mall and an earlier hour. The compromise: Montgomery Mall at 4 a.m.
As the foursome walked out of Abercrombie and Fitch a couple of hours later, his mother, Delores, could not help but note with a laugh that the experience was a little lopsided. "The mother's carrying all the bags and spending all the money," she said.
"This is my first Black Friday," Askari said happily.
His older sister, Amani Rushing, 29, mused that maybe the rush of buying was not all about the holiday, but partly a reaction to the long economic downturn. "I wonder if people are shopping for Christmas or whether they are buying themselves a few luxuries they've really been denying themselves."
Those who didn't get such an early start found themselves stuck in traffic backed up on southound Route 270 near Democracy Boulevard as shoppers waited near the entrance of Montgomery Mall, where parking lots appeared to be largely filled by noon.
By mid-morning at Tysons Corner Center, as the dust settled following the predawn-doorbuster frenzy, it looked more like a typical weekend at the mall: busy and crowded but not quite a chaotic cattle call. (Five Guys, in the food court, was a different, more densely packed story as the lunch hour arrived.)
Banana Republic closed its doors at noon, when its 40 percent off sale ended with at least 100 customers still in the store. "We'll reopen at 1, with another, good promotion," an employee said.
One could also shop for a job at Tysons, too. Auntie Anne's was hiring pretzel-rollers and cashiers. And West Elm, the upscale home decor shop at Tysons, had a "now hiring" sign posted at the door, with merchandising and sales positions for the taking.
Glorious Bazemore was on her way to work Friday morning when she decided to take just a quick peek inside the Best Buy in Columbia Heights.
"My family and friends tell me I need to have Blu-Ray," she said. Now, she will.
Bazemore, a 59-year-old Petworth resident, had three players stacked in her cart. One for her bedroom, another for her den, and a third for her basement - when she's done fixing it up.
A Best Buy salesman was checking the price of a surround system to go with her new gadgets. He returned. It was $397, down from $600. "That's a really good deal," he said.
Sold. Bazemore added it to her haul, but said she's only looking for good bargains and she might pull back on her gift spending this year. "I'm monitoring how I spend. I can't just buy food just to have food. I have to use it all," she said, adding she's sure to pay off her bills every month to avoid late fees.
The Best Buy was the most bustling store at the DC USA shopping center, with a steady stream of people walking out with big-screen TVs. Others were rifling through boxes of discounted DVDs.
But at the Bed, Bath & Beyond next door, employees practically outnumbered shoppers. Target was emptier than it is on a typical Sunday. There were no long lines at the checkout area. In the linens section, one man gestured at some sheets and asked an employee whether they were on sale. They weren't, and he sauntered off.
At Montgomery Mall, the shoppers came in waves. In the 6 a.m. hour, Samantha Dummann, 24, of Olney, arrived with her mother, Maria, 56, and her mother's friend, Diane Chupka, 57, on a serious mall excursion - so that by 8 a.m. they had already delivered more than 10 heavy bags into the car and were breakfasting in the food court, as they prepared for another round.
Samantha, drinking her second large iced mocha of the day, was not accustomed to the early hour, she said, but pleased by her bargains, which included a great deal on a watch. She was not really spending more than last year, she said, but "I'm giving more to people because I'm making out."
Customer Adele Richer went to sleep on Thanksgiving intending not to do any Black Friday shopping.
"I got roped into this," she said Friday morning at Tysons Corner Center. The 46-year-old from Baltimore was standing outside Garage, a girls clothing store, with four shopping bags at her feet: Lego, Macy's, Urban Outfitters and Bakers. "I had no intention of spending anything today."
Explain, please. "My brother lives in Fairfax, and every year, his family gets up at 4," Richer said. She'd planned on hearing all about this year's excursion to the region's largest mall when everybody got home. "But my daughter woke me up at 4," she said.
So here she was, hundreds of dollars later in gift purchases for her family and, um . . .others. "I bought perfume, a watch, these really cool over-the knee black boots - those are for me," she said. They were from Bakers, the shoe store. They were not on her holiday shopping list.
"When a chick goes by a shoe store, it's over," she said. "Those boots were calling to me, crying, saying, 'Take me home.' "
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