Locals hunt Black Friday deals - on Thursday, of course

COEUR d’ALENE — If you think Black Friday is dead, you don’t know Traci Miller of Coeur d’Alene or Scott Doering of Spokane Valley.

Like many others, Miller and Doering were shopping like crazy from Thanksgiving afternoon onward.

They were standing in line at Shopko at lunchtime Friday, patiently weaving in and out of aisles like dozens of others.

This was their third year of Black Friday shopping. They said their main targets were Shopko and Best Buy. They went to Shopko for consumables including home decor, cat litter, and snacks, and went to Best Buy for hot electronic items, Miller said.

Miller had showed up at Shopko when it opened on Thanksgiving at 2 p.m. and after doing some shopping, scanned the store’s newspaper advertisement again and returned for savings she had overlooked. She estimated that she saved more than $100 on basics at Shopko.

Doering stood in line at Best Buy at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving. The line wrapped halfway around the store at that time, he said, and was all the way around the building by the time it opened at 5 p.m.

“It was a good time,” he said, sounding like a guy who got what he wanted.

Because he did. Doering picked up a 75-inch, 4K smart television that normally retails around $1,200 for only $699, he said.

“Any other time it’s just not feasible to spend the money and buy it,” he said.

Black Friday is not only a financial boon for shoppers, but for retailers — brick-and-mortar and digital sellers alike. Adobe Analytics data shows that in 2017, stores raked in $7.9 billion in online sales, up 17.9 percent from 2016. Those massive sums are why the day is called “Black” Friday, according to blackfriday.com.

“‘Black’ refers to stores moving from the ‘red’ to the ‘black,’ back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit,” the website explained.

Barney and Rosie Layton of Medimont weren’t willing to wake up extremely early to come into town for doorbuster deals on Friday, but they did come to Coeur d’Alene later in the day to get a few gifts. Barney said they usually come to Coeur d’Alene rather than St. Maries due to the larger town’s greater variety. They were lured to Big Lots by an advertisement for Barbies, but found that the store had sold out of them by the time they got there. Afterward, they went to Big 5 and to Black Sheep to look for base layers for their grandson, they said.

The parking lot at Black Sheep was full but the store wasn’t too chaotic, they said. Rosie said that after shopping, they’d be off to watch the Apple Cup later in the day.

Brad and Matt Jobes of Coeur d’Alene made their first-ever Black Friday shopping trip to Black Sheep. Brad said he’s usually out hunting on Black Friday, but this year he was hunting for deals on fly fishing equipment. Matt, a bass fisherman, said he often shops at Black Sheep for his sporting goods needs.

Paul Hindson of Crawford Bay, British Columbia, just happened to find himself in Black Sheep on Friday. He said he hates the thought of lining up for hours and finding that a desired item sold out.

“It’s masochistic,” he said.

According to the National Retail Federation, in 2017, 11 percent of Black Friday shoppers started shopping before 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, with another 11 percent beginning at 6 p.m. The NRF also said that in 2017, 77 million people shopped in stores on Black Friday.

For avid smart shoppers like Doering and Miller, the day is a fun event to look forward to.

“I like the hype of it,” Miller said.

The pair said they meet some nice people — as well as pushy people — on Black Fridays.

“I try to be thoughtful and considerate,” Doering said.