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Black Friday 2017: A Run on Sneakers in L.A., and Sparse Crowds in Dallas Black Friday 2017: A Run on Sneakers in L.A., and a Frenzy Online
(about 1 hour later)
The unofficial start of the holiday shopping season was this week, when many national retailers opened their doors and offered major sales. Now it’s Black Friday, traditionally the big day of the week, when shoppers work off their Thanksgiving dinners by sprinting for the products and bargains they covet the most. We’re capturing what it looks and feels like at American shopping malls, retailers and discount stores. The unofficial start of the holiday shopping season was this week, when many national retailers opened their doors and offered major sales. Now it’s Black Friday, traditionally the big day of the week. We’re capturing what it looks and feels like at American shopping malls, retailers and discount stores.
Here, you’ll also find:Here, you’ll also find:
• Shopping deals from The Wirecutter, a product review and recommendation site owned by The New York Times.• Shopping deals from The Wirecutter, a product review and recommendation site owned by The New York Times.
• Sneaker sales drew lines in Los Angeles; in Dallas, there were few early crowds to battle.• Sneaker sales drew lines in Los Angeles; in Dallas, there were few early crowds to battle.
• History and facts about Black Friday. (Did you know it started in Philadelphia in the 1960s?)• History and facts about Black Friday. (Did you know it started in Philadelphia in the 1960s?)
In front of Cool Kicks, a sneaker boutique on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, Jonathan Lindsey reclined in a lawn chair, hoodie drawn snug over a custom fitted cap. About 100 people waited in a line behind him, stretching around the corner.In front of Cool Kicks, a sneaker boutique on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, Jonathan Lindsey reclined in a lawn chair, hoodie drawn snug over a custom fitted cap. About 100 people waited in a line behind him, stretching around the corner.
Mr. Lindsey, 28, said there were around 15 people ahead of him when he arrived at 9 p.m. Thursday — 12 hours before the store would open. But he paid $60 dollars to move up to second. Like most of the people near the front of the line, he was here not for personal shopping, but for business.Mr. Lindsey, 28, said there were around 15 people ahead of him when he arrived at 9 p.m. Thursday — 12 hours before the store would open. But he paid $60 dollars to move up to second. Like most of the people near the front of the line, he was here not for personal shopping, but for business.
So the Gray Zebra Yeezy Boosts he was there to buy would never grace Mr. Lindsey’s feet. Instead, he had sold the pair in advance to a woman who had driven by earlier in a Mercedes, offering him $550 dollars for a pair that would cost him $320.So the Gray Zebra Yeezy Boosts he was there to buy would never grace Mr. Lindsey’s feet. Instead, he had sold the pair in advance to a woman who had driven by earlier in a Mercedes, offering him $550 dollars for a pair that would cost him $320.
“She had her son on FaceTime,” Mr. Lindsey recalled. “She’s like, ‘His birthday is tomorrow, and he wants the shoes.’ They’re sold. Baby boy’s birthday. They’re sold.”“She had her son on FaceTime,” Mr. Lindsey recalled. “She’s like, ‘His birthday is tomorrow, and he wants the shoes.’ They’re sold. Baby boy’s birthday. They’re sold.”
Though patrons would be limited to buying just one pair each — with some pairs marked down to just a dollar, only one of the first 15 people in line at Cool Kicks was planning on keeping his purchase. The rest — mostly teenagers, and all male but one — would be immediately relisting their new rare sneakers on the secondary market, where some pairs fetch more than $1,000. Though patrons would be limited to buying just one pair each — with some pairs marked down to just a dollar, only one of the first 15 people in line at Cool Kicks was planning on keeping his purchase. The rest — mostly teenagers, and all male but one — would be immediately relisting their new rare sneakers on the secondary market, where some pairs fetch more than $1,000. — LOUIS KEENE
Not far away, on Fairfax Avenue, a short line formed outside Dope Couture, a streetwear store that was offering buy-one, get-one-free deals the next morning. Friday is on track to become perhaps the busiest day in history for online shopping, according to salesforce.com, which makes it a spectacularly bad time for a retailer’s website to go on the fritz.
On the pavement a few feet from the store entrance, Juan Rodriguez, 42, of Palmdale, was zipped up to his neck in a sleeping bag. An enthusiastic chaperone, he had driven his son, his nephew, and his son’s friend to Fairfax for the fourth straight year. But as shoppers pour into e-commerce, pushing online revenue on Thanksgiving to what Adobe’s digital marketing research arm described as a record of $2.87 billion, many companies are struggling to accommodate the surge in traffic.
“I learned the hard way,” Mr. Rodriguez said of camping out. “When I first came, I was freezing. This time I came with chairs, bags and food; I eat before I come, all that.” — LOUIS KEENE Many customers trying to access the online Black Friday deals offered by Lowe’s — up to 40 percent off certain appliances, half-priced power tools and more — instead encountered glitches that caused the site to fail mid-purchase or struggle to load at all.
A spokeswoman for the home improvement chain said the increase in site visits was “causing some intermittent outages” and said that the company was “working diligently” to restore full functionality.
Last year, both Macy’s and Express had to soothe Black Friday customers enraged by technical difficulties with the brands’ websites.
The global reach of e-commerce has inspired many international companies to participate in the post-Thanksgiving shopping event. Several of them also experienced website crashes on Friday.
Takealot.com, a general goods e-commerce retailer based in South Africa, apologized to shoppers for site-wide problems, saying in a Twitter post that “ a fundamental service within our platform has failed.”
Hudson’s Bay, a Canadian department store chain, spent much of the morning on Twitter responding to customer complaints of website problems. — TIFFANY HSU
In a clear sign that online sales and Thanksgiving Day openings have taken a bite out of Black Friday, many Dallas stores had no morning crowds at all. Numerous retailers on the city’s busy Highway 75 opened early only to find 10, five or even just one customer waiting outside.In a clear sign that online sales and Thanksgiving Day openings have taken a bite out of Black Friday, many Dallas stores had no morning crowds at all. Numerous retailers on the city’s busy Highway 75 opened early only to find 10, five or even just one customer waiting outside.
Luiza Behs, 15, of Tulsa, Okla., went to the Apple Store an hour before it opened to beat the line, but there was no line. She, her mother, her friend and one other customer were the only people waiting.Luiza Behs, 15, of Tulsa, Okla., went to the Apple Store an hour before it opened to beat the line, but there was no line. She, her mother, her friend and one other customer were the only people waiting.
“There’s no lines so that’s good for me,” Ms. Behs said with a smile.“There’s no lines so that’s good for me,” Ms. Behs said with a smile.
Trina, a 46-year-old Dallas woman who did not want to give her last name, went to Target with her son before it opened and found no one there.Trina, a 46-year-old Dallas woman who did not want to give her last name, went to Target with her son before it opened and found no one there.
“We laughed about it because we said, ‘We could just wait in the car,’” she said, waiting for the door to be unlocked. As she spoke, about eight other people gathered behind her, lining up behind temporary fencing that was clearly unnecessary. Just two minutes after the store opened, a Target employee came out and pulled the fencing away from the curb, and pushed it up against the wall. “We laughed about it because we said, ‘We could just wait in the car,’” she said, waiting for the door to be unlocked.
Perhaps people were just sleeping later this year. Rather than rise hours before dawn, Americans on average slept in longer on Friday than they did a week earlier, according to data from the Sleep Cycle snooze-tracking app. And when they eventually woke up, residents of most states were in a better mood than when they got out of bed last Friday.
Ryan Marlar, 26, of Garland, was the only person sitting outside Dick’s Sporting Goods waiting for the store to open at 5 a.m. With plans to buy ammunition on sale, Mr. Marlar sat on the tailgate of his truck and said he expected to see at least a few other people waiting to get in.Ryan Marlar, 26, of Garland, was the only person sitting outside Dick’s Sporting Goods waiting for the store to open at 5 a.m. With plans to buy ammunition on sale, Mr. Marlar sat on the tailgate of his truck and said he expected to see at least a few other people waiting to get in.
“It’s my favorite holiday of the year. You know exactly what you want,” he said. “I’m only saving like 10 bucks, but it’s the spirit of the thing. I always go and do it.” — PATRICK MCGEE“It’s my favorite holiday of the year. You know exactly what you want,” he said. “I’m only saving like 10 bucks, but it’s the spirit of the thing. I always go and do it.” — PATRICK MCGEE
Our colleagues over at Wirecutter, a New York Times company that reviews products, have a running list of Black Friday deals on everything from trash cans to cameras to artificial Christmas trees.Our colleagues over at Wirecutter, a New York Times company that reviews products, have a running list of Black Friday deals on everything from trash cans to cameras to artificial Christmas trees.
The best part is you don’t have to get out of your chair to chase them down.The best part is you don’t have to get out of your chair to chase them down.
There are suggestions at every price point, so it’s a good resource if you’re buying for a gift exchange at work or a loved one. After all, somebody in your life must need a kayak.There are suggestions at every price point, so it’s a good resource if you’re buying for a gift exchange at work or a loved one. After all, somebody in your life must need a kayak.
What on Earth possesses people to hit stores when they could be home sleeping off a turkey dinner? The psychology is complicated. We asked shoppers around the country what drew them to stores over the long Thanksgiving weekend.
Richard Larson, a professor at M.I.T. who has spent years studying line behavior — he’s known as Dr. Queue in academic circles — said that the enthusiasm for Black Friday lines “makes sense, in some weird way.” NAME: John Kaikis Jr.
The once-a-year lines are “exhilarating,” he said. “They’re the kind you might tell your grandchildren about.” AGE: 58
The scarcity of bargains means shoppers can enjoy a sense of accomplishment after braving the lines. LOCATION: Louisville, Ky.
“People’s willingness to wait is, in some sense, proportional to the perceived value of whatever they’re waiting to acquire,” Professor Larson said. “Even if they don’t know what the line is for, they reason that whatever’s at the end of it must be fantastically valuable.” WHY DO YOU COME TO A STORE INSTEAD OF SHOPPING ONLINE?
Is that enough to lure Professor Larson into this weekend’s lines? Nope. “It confuses me,” he said. — TIFFANY HSU “We like to look at things and hold them in our hands. That way we know exactly what we’re buying.”
So how is it that the term Black Friday has come almost universally to denote joyous commercial excess, stupendous deals and big profits on the day when people head out to shop for the holidays after Thanksgiving? DO YOU COME FOR PRACTICAL REASONS, OR FOR THE EXPERIENCE?
It wasn’t always this way. The New York Times first used the term Black Friday in an article in 1870 to refer to the day the gold market collapsed the year before. “We just kind of do it to have fun. Because I was way hung over this morning, and I sure didn’t need to be up this early. But it’s fun. It’s a tradition we’ve been doing now for 14 years. And afterwards, we’ll go out for mimosas, so that’s a bonus.”
Ben Zimmer, executive producer of Vocabulary.com, who has researched and written about the term, says its association with shopping the day after Thanksgiving began in Philadelphia in the 1960s — and even then, the reference wasn’t positive. — HILARY STOUT WHAT’S THE PRODUCT YOU’LL RUN TO FIRST?
TV and laptop.
— SARAH KELLEY