Black Friday Starts Early For Enthusiastic Holiday Shoppers
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ)-- Some Maryland stores opened for Black Friday on Thursday. At some stores, people have been waiting in line for hours.
Meghan McCorkell has the Friday frenzy that's already begun.
People have been at the Target in Towson for hours. Black Friday frenzy has gobbled up Thanksgiving.
"This is for my little girl," Chelsea Haig from Perry Hall said.
The line stretched down the building from Toys R' Us, people with their eye on the prize.
"I'm eyeing an XBox game," said one customer.
"An iPod Touch," said another.
When doors opened at 9 p.m., it was all about strategy.
"She's going for one direction, and then we're going to go in the other direction," said Janet Laumann from Hampden.
For those that didn't want to wait out in the cold, K-Mart was open all Thanksgiving Day with deals.
"The past several years now, K-Mart's been opening on Thanksgiving Day just for our customers to be able to come and shop and get that early jump on that Christmas shopping," said Chris Toumanidis, K-Mart manager.
Some came before the turkey.
"We are going to my aunt's house now," a shopper said. "So, hopefully everybody's there because I have the banana pudding."
Others like sisters Carlita and Vantrela Gross searching for deals after their family feast.
"It's incredible," Carlita Gross said. "It's absolutely incredible. A week ago, it was almost $20."
Now, they're walking away with a movie for just $8. Scanning the aisles, serving a dual purpose.
"Also to walk off everything I just ate," she said.
For many, the mall marathon is more a madness than a sprint.
McCorkell: "Is this like an all-night thing for you guys now?"
Shopper Michelle Cox: "Pretty much. Then we end it with breakfast, and then we go home and go to bed."
Other stores opening at midnight include Macy's and Best Buy.
The National Retail Federation predicts 152 million people will hit the stores for Black Friday. That's up 10 percent from last year.
