Bargains and pre-dawn sales draw South Floridians on Black Friday: Doorbusters and early-bird specials draw crowds

Traffic was especially high at stores like BrandsMart, Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart as shoppers tried to nab deals on high-definition TVs, toys and household appliances.

By 6 a.m. Friday, Jarbas Lima of Boynton Beach had already been to BrandsMart in Deerfield Beach, Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us in Boynton Beach. Thanksgiving night, Lima and his wife stood in line for three hours waiting for BrandsMart to open at midnight.

He and his wife bought a digital camera and other gifts, went home to sleep a few hours, and then were out again early Friday at Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us.

"We've spent about $600. About 50 percent are gifts," said Lima, pointing to his full truck.

Lima said he's not letting the bad economy stop him taking advantage of Black Friday's bargains.

Jacksonville resident Karin Rzeszotko was one of the early-birds to descend on Kohl's Department Store in Plantation, which opened at 4 a.m.

"The prices are beyond great, they're amazing," said Rzeszotko, 42, while shopping for gifts for husband and two girls.

Rzeszotko's early morning holiday haul included a Barbie Glamour Jet for $29.99, originally priced at $79.99 and a Vivitar 10.1 HD digital camera for $59.99, reduced from $129.99.

Nationwide, retailers in all sectors were reporting similar strong crowds early Friday, the National Retail Federation said in a statement.

Black Friday -- the popular after Thanksgiving shopping day that kicks off the holiday retail season -- is a typically a harbinger for the rest of the period, which can account for as much as 40 percent of retailers' annual sales.

This year as many as 134 million shoppers were expected to hit stores Black Friday weekend in search of holiday gifts -- an increase over the 128 million anticipated last year, according to a recent retail federation survey.

Even so, holiday retail sales in November and December were forecast nationally to drop 1 percent, to $437.6 billion, after a 3.4 percent decline a year ago.

This year more retailers opened earlier for Black Friday to promote shopping safety or in a bid for market share, which prompted some shoppers to forgo or shorten Thanksgiving activities for a coveted spot in line.

Others stores like Best Buy, however, kept its 5 a.m. opening time to avoid disruptions to consumers' holiday celebrations.

G.G. Harrison was shopping Thursday with her two college-aged daughters looking at shoes at Macy's in Town Center at Boca Raton.

"I'm trying to get them to shop for others," she said.

Harrison, who owns a woodworking company, Designer's Specialty Millwork, in Fort Lauderdale, said she feels fortunate because her firm is still going strong with commercial building work.

But she wondered whether consumers were out in force.

"I could find a parking space at Town Center in Boca Raton. How busy could it be?"

That's the question on many retailers' minds, but it's still early days yet to see if higher foot traffic will mean increased sales or profits. Most retailers won't release Black Friday results before Sunday.

At Sawgrass Mills outlet mall in Sunrise large crowds descended again this year for its second midnight Thanksgiving opening.

"Overall we'd estimate that the crowd was more than last year based on parking lot capacity, General Manager Luanne Lenberg said.

By 1 a.m. the mall's 12,000 parking spaces were already full, Lenberg said.

Sophia Heslop arrived at the BrandsMart Sawgrass store at 4 a.m. and still had a long wait before getting into the store but said it was worth it because she got the items she'd come for.

Heslop was still shopping around 8 a.m. Friday at the nearby Wal-Mart on Sunrise Boulevard. There, she was perusing a store circular for other Black Friday specials and pondering where next to shop to get the best deal on a Christmas tree.

The 40-year-old mother of 3-year-old twins said she was spending less this year and looking for ways to stretch her dollars.

"You have to look for the bargains...it's a crisis now."

Some South Florida shoppers faced inventory shortages as they searched for Black Friday bargains.

Kerry and Barbara Evans of Boynton Beach rolled out a 32-inch HDTV they bought at Best Buy in Boynton Beach around 7 a.m.

"We went to Target and Wal-Mart first, but there aren't any left," said Kerry Evans.

After a temporary worker was trampled to death last year in a Long Island Wal-Mart, there were few reports this year of major incidents as shoppers clamored for deals. In South Florida some shoppers and retailers said consumers overall were behaving more politely this year.

Not every one shopping on Friday bought the promotional hype.

Chris Grothe, 35, of Port St. Lucie, visited the Super Target in Boynton Beach with his wife and two children. He came along for the ride, not convinced that shopping on Black Friday is worth the hassle.

"There's a sale every day. That's what I always say," Grothe said.

Staff writers Paul Owers, Diane Lade and Julie Patel contributed to this report.

Arlene Satchell can be reached at asatchell@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4209.

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