Friday frenzy

COEUR d’ALENE — The Kohl’s customer needed both arms to hold all the items he was carrying toward the cashier early Friday.

“Good morning,” an employee wearing a Christmas sweater said. “Are you ready to check out?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “But I’m looking for my wife.”

“I can’t help you with that one,” the woman answered with a smile.

The shopping spirit kicked into high gear in North Idaho on Black Friday, with men, women and children heading to Coeur d’Alene stores, attracted by deals and discounts.

Everything, it seemed, was on sale.

TV, phones, computers, clothes, jewelry, furniture, home decor, sporting goods, toys, games and appliances were highlighted in flyers and ads in The Press prior to one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

As the sun pierced the darkness and dawn broke, more shoppers continued to recover from their Thanksgiving feast and emerge from homes. By mid-morning, parking lots were filled with vehicles.

Kara Fredekind of Post Falls was among those in line about 6 a.m. at Target waiting for the doors to open at 7. She was after gaming headphones, video games and toys.

“They only have two left of the headphones, so I have to book it,” she said.

Fredekind has long loved Black Friday and likes being in the crowds, who are generally feeling festive.

“Ever since I was 18, I’ve been getting up at 3 a.m. getting in line, we used to start at Shopko,” she said. “We planned out the route, and then we would go.”

They haven’t done that in a few years, and Shopko is long closed, but Fredekind has't lost her passion for rising early, meeting friends and making the rounds to retailers.

She used to go on Thanksgiving, but decided that wasn’t family friendly. So Friday, with a friend not feeling well, she went alone.

“I love this when you get up early and go shopping,” she said. “I love it. I just love it. It’s part of my deal.”

Enthusiastic crowds joined her at stores big and small, greeted by armies of mask-wearing, smiling employees.

Inside the Silver Lake Mall, the song, “And So This is Christmas” played from speakers, while a woman sweeping offered a “Merry Christmas.”

“Good morning,” said a Macy’s employee wearing deer antlers.

A man standing in a line of people waiting to pay for their selections shouted to his wife sorting through packages of bed sheets.

“To the left,” he said.

The woman held it up for him to see.

“No. The left,” he said, unwilling to give up his spot in the line to walk to her.

At J.C. Penney, an employee helped a customer figure out how to look up a coupon on smart phone so he could get the extra 10% off an already 55% off massager.

The store opened at 5 a.m.

“It’s off to a slow start, but things are picking up,” the clerk said.

John Eldredge left the mall with a few bags of gifts for family. He was feeling optimistic about the shopping season.

“People seem to be in good moods,” he said when asked what he had noticed in his travels Friday morning.

The National Retail Federation recently forecast that holiday sales during November and December would increase between 3.6% and 5.2% over 2019 to a total between $755.3 billion and $766.7 billion.

“We know this holiday season will be unlike any other, and retailers have planned ahead by investing billions of dollars to ensure the health and safety of their employees and customers,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Consumers have shown they are excited about the holidays and are willing to spend on gifts that lift the spirits of family and friends after such a challenging year. We expect a strong finish to the holiday season.”

Consumer spending has recovered from the coronavirus pandemic more quickly than expected, but forecasting 2020 holiday sales is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle without all the pieces, National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said today.

“The recession appears to be behind us and the re-opening of the economy over the past several months has created momentum that should carry through the fourth quarter,” he said. “The test is whether consumer spending will be sustained amid wildcard puzzle pieces including policy surprises, the election and a resurgent virus.”

Jesse and Ammie Withnell of Coeur d’Alene were seeking an HP laptop and after unsuccessful trips to Walmart and Best Buy, found what they wanted at Target. But they had to wait an hour outside.

No problem.

Ammie said they like to support local businesses, so they make it a point of staying close to home.

She said she has shopped on Thanksgiving “because everybody opened so early, by Friday morning, everything was gone.”

She and Jesse were out before dawn Friday.

“I prefer the Friday morning shopping,” she said.

They said they noticed many cars with plates from Washington state outside Costco and other stores.

“Everyone from Spokane is coming over because they’re only letting in 25% capacity,” she said.

Kohl’s was especially busy Friday, with Black Friday deals, boosted by Kohl's Cash, at every turn.

“Do you know where I can find that waffle iron?” a customer inquired.

“Let’s take a look,” answered an employee.

In another aisle, a woman sorted through racks of shirts.

“Do they not have a large size in this?” she asked.

Two people walked along, both shopping and planning their next stop.

“Are we going to go to North 40?” one said.

“Yeah,” came the answer.

Fred Meyer was popular, with people waiting 5-10 minutes outside in 35-degree temperatures so shoppers inside could follow social distancing due to coronavirus safety measures.

“Need a basket?” asked a man after he was done off-loading a cart of gifts.

The electronics department was busy, with people waiting for their turns at TVs, DVD players, tablets and Bluetooth speakers.

Arrows and tape in some areas — the 50% off deal on socks is always popular — of the store guided customers. Free Country coats and jackets were 60% off.

Some, though, had trouble figuring their next move.

“Where do you enter this line?” asked a man pushing a full shopping cart.

A woman held up a sweater, eyed it carefully, and asked the man his opinion.

“Oh, yes,” he said.

Two others shoppers wandered past.

“I need to find slippers,” one said.

Three women waiting outside declined to give their names, but said they planned to shop “everywhere, probably.”

One wasn’t wild about Black Friday, but couldn’t resist.

“I don’t like it at all, but I feel I can double the gift,” she said.

“I definitely don’t like the freezing,” said another, bundled up with cap and coat.

At Lowe’s two ladies who also declined to give their names transferred one-quart poinsettias, on sale for 88 cents from the regular price of $3.98, from cart to car.

“We don’t really need them, but this is a great deal,” one said.

Both said they were feeling good about the holidays and Black Friday shopping, but noticed it was quieter than years past.

“We love it,” she said. “It’s always good every year."

Four young men from Spirit Lake were on the hunt for an Xbox Series X, which they described as “super tough to get. It’s sold out everywhere.”

They tried Best Buy and GameStop and struck out. So they waited outside Target for about 40 minutes before an employee came out, asked what they were after, and shook his head. All out.

Their quest was over. Disappointed, they walked away, but they still had one more stop: IHOP.

“We just want food,” said Mason Lenz.