Black Friday shoppers swoop up early bird deals

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Hours before Target’s Black Friday sale at 7 am, the parking lot stood quiet with just one car idling, a woman on a mission for her grandkids in the driver’s seat.

“I’ve been trying to get the giant, large teddy bear that they have every year,” she smiled. “There’s only a few of them that get sent to certain stores. And last year because of COVID, obviously, I couldn’t come in the store because they’re only offered in the store.”

Shannon Haynie arrived just before 3:30 am Friday, learning from the past several years when she’s come close to getting the ferocious furry bears.

“We stood in line, and the first year, I was almost to the end of the building,” she said. “Obviously didn’t get any that year. The second year I was a little bit further up. So I thought, I’m going to be really early this morning.”

Because of the rain, customers waited in their cars until about an hour before doors opened. Many stores, like Walmart and Best Buy opened at 5 am. Will McConnell lined up bright an early after following his brother to his third store in two hours.

“Honestly this is my first time Black Friday,” McConnell explained, “so I just wanted to come out here and check it out for fun. My brother’s coming here for the Xbox so, we’ll see how it goes.”

Though lines stretched around the building before doors opened, Haynie and others seemed surprised by the morning’s turnout.

“All these times that people say black Friday and everything… you would never know,” said Haynie.
According to shopper, Tiffany Taylor, “They’re really dead. There’s nobody here. It’s normally busy. But Target seems to be busier.”
“It seems a little calmer than in past years,” said Wendy Coggins. “But we came out immediately to get matching Christmas pajamas.”

One by one, families trickled into the popular Black Friday destination, hoping for everything from Christmas morning comforts, to gifts sure to put a smile on loved ones faces. Almost no one was as excited as Haynie, who snapped up an enormous teddy bear.