The holiday shopping season got under way Thursday night and. On Friday morning, many area stores opened their doors early for customers, but crowds don’t seem to be coming out the way they used to for Black Friday sales.
“Not too bad” is how Mike Kaufman described the shopping atmosphere at the Boulevard Mall on Friday morning.
“Picked up some clothes, some jeans, a couple of shirts. Stuff like that,” said Kaufman.
He was among the underwhelming amount of shoppers who turned out for Black Friday sales.
While many area residents were putting the final touches on their turkeys and sitting down to eat Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, some area stores began opening opened their doors. J.C. Penney led the afternoon pack at 2 p.m.
“Penney's at 2 o’clock was a madhouse,” said Trent Hariaczy of Amherst. “Organized, very organized, but it wrapped all the way around the mall. So your typical Black Friday crowds.”
Others chose to avoid the Thursday rush in favor of Friday’s calm along the Niagara Falls Boulevard’s shopping strip. Fran Chester said it was the better day for visiting the mall.
“[It’s] a fantastic time to come and shop,” said Chester, noting that she’s tired from a day of cooking on Thanksgiving, and would prefer to spend the time with her family.
