Oklahoma shoppers get early start
BBY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Fueled by the lure of a great deal, adrenalin and perhaps a little coffee, shoppers flocked to local stores Friday morning.
Beverly Brown had visited five stores by 6 a.m. She skipped sleep and started at Toys R Us at midnight, then shopped at Walmart, Best Buy, Gordmans and J.C. Penney.
"I'm going to crash and burn, but I'm getting some great deals," she said.
The last time she got up early to stand in line for a Christmas gift was a few years ago during the Furby craze, she said. This year, she snagged an iPod touch for a relative.
Penn Square Mall was bustling early. Shoppers waited for the doors to open at 5 a.m., some wrapped themselves in blankets or wore Snuggies, others pushed sleeping children in strollers, said Audrie Thompson, the mall's general manager.
By the end of the day, some strollers would be full of shopping bags and the children would be in arms or walking, Thompson predicted.
When the Norman Super Target opened at 5 a.m., it was like the running of the bulls, with focused shoppers -- maps and fliers in hand -- rushing into the store to get their hands on a flat-screen television or other coveted item.
Hundreds of people formed a line that snaked across the front of the entire shopping center and wound west toward the interstate.
Shoppers at the front of the line said they arrived at 10:30 p.m. Thursday.
Once inside, additional lines formed in the movie department and at the pharmacy, where employees doled out GPS devices and digital cameras. Store manager Mark Cejda said the store's advertised flat-screen televisions sold out in 15 minutes.
Target employees handed out maps to customers waiting in line and tickets to those seeking high profile items.
"It's as smooth as you can get with this many people at once," Cejda said of the organized chaos inside the store.
Near the exit, two men stood next to matching 40-inch flat screen televisions and traded small talk as they waited for their rides. When asked who the recipient of the TV would be, Tom Davis, of Bentonville, Ark., admitted, "Oh, this one's for me."
To see more of The Oklahoman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.newsok.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave.,
Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
For full details on Best Buy Co Inc (BBY) BBY. Best Buy Co Inc (BBY) has Short Term PowerRatings at TradingMarkets. Details on Best Buy Co Inc (BBY) Short Term PowerRatings is available at This Link.
- ID Watchdog and InComm Poised to Launch Retail Version of idCHECK - 02/09/10
- Research and Markets: Best Buy Co, Inc. - 2010 SWOT Framework Analysis - 02/09/10
- ExactTarget Finishes 2009 with Record Sales, Adds More Than 1,000 New Clients Worldwide - 02/09/10
- Critical Alerts for Caterpillar, Schlumberger, Best Buy, Western Union, and Arch Coal Released by Seven Summits Research - 02/09/10
- Shavlik NetChk Protect Gets a "Best Buy" 5-Star Rating From SC Magazine - 02/09/10
- More News >>
