Video: Tupelo Shoppers Hit Mall at Barnes and Crossing for Black Friday Bargains

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BY ALLIE MARTIN
amartin@wcbi.com

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) — The busiest shopping weekend of the year is upon us. Merchants throughout northeast Mississippi are hoping for big crowds and lots of activity at the cash register.

Like many shoppers, Jalei Gaskin was up early for Black Friday.

“I got here at 5:20 a.m.,” Gaskin said.

Every store in the Mall at Barnes Crossing had special sales for the first day of the post-Thanksgiving shopping season.

“We’re expecting a lot of sales this year,” Kristen Montgomery with Yellow Lovebirds said. “We’re expecting to have a lot of customers, get a lot of business.”

Still, the Black Friday frenzy didn’t see traffic nightmares, or overflow crowds early on, partly because many stores opened Thanksgiving evening.

“It was packed in here last night,” shopper Tanya Herod said.

Herod was part of the Gray Thursday crowd, and she was back Friday morning to continue her shopping mission at a well-known retailer.

“JCPenney, the boots, I think a lot of people came out for those,” Herod said.

Last year, according to the National Retail Federation, some 92 million people shopped on Black Friday.

The next few weeks are prime time for merchants who are trying to help shoppers fill their Christmas wish lists.

“My list gets longer and longer as the day goes by,” shopper Tiuana Holder said.

“Clothes, sweaters, boots, basic winter essentials,” Gaskin said.

And if you missed the Black Friday sales, retailers say there will be more deals through Christmas.

“There will be lots of doorbusters, price breaks on just about everything in the store,” Cheryl Woods with JCPenney said.

Also, retailers point out they have hired seasonal help for the Christmas shopping season, which gives another boost to the local economy.

Categories: Local News