Local retailers pleased with Black Friday weekend sales, turnout
Danville retailers hope increased traffic and sales stemming from Black Friday weekend will continue through the rest of the holiday shopping season.
Belk in Piedmont Mall opened at 4 a.m. on Black Friday for the first time and saw more customers waiting in line to get in the store than in the past — mostly to get one of 250 gift cards.
“It was terrific,” store manager Shane Markham said about weekend sales. “We did much better than we did last year. We really hadn’t seen our store that busy in quite a few years.”
He estimates at least a 25 percent increase in traffic early Friday morning. Belk’s sales on Friday and Saturday increased over last year. Deals on electronics, home items and kitchen electrics and jewelry seemed to attract customers.
Customers also bought plenty of boots and athletic shoes, which may indicate that they were also shopping for themselves, Markham said.
“It just seemed like customers were ready to shop,” Markham said. “We always like to say that Black Friday is a barometer for how the rest of the season will go. We’re planning on continuing to do really well.”
Big Lots in Nor-Dan Shopping Center had lines of customers waiting to get in Thursday through Saturday. Customers bought more large-ticket items this year compared to past years, store manager Steve Leith said.
On Thursday, deals attracted customers to recliners and fireplaces. On Friday, the store sold a lot of elec-tronics and cameras. Customers are getting more “Internet-savvy” and perusing Web sites about in-store specials, he added.
