Bargain hunters reward stores with earlier hours, deep discounts

The customer checked his watch and sighed. He walked away disappointed.

Black Friday – the moniker for what's become a giant shopping frenzy the day after Thanksgiving – means getting up early and standing in line to get the best deals. Only the early bird will get the worm. The term refers to the day when retailers typically become profitable for the year, or "go into the black."

Customers lined up Thursday morning to be at the front of the line at Best Buy's store near Little Five Points. The store didn't open until 5 a.m. Friday.

But Black Friday deals this year came with a backdrop of heavy economic pain.

The number of unemployed people in metro Atlanta was up 46 percent in October from the level of a year ago, according to statistics released Thursday from the Georgia Department of Labor.

That makes it harder for some families to give gifts this Christmas.

And fears about losing jobs are infecting those who are employed.

"The job fears have just taken the wind out of retail sales," said Britt Beemer, CEO and founder of America's Research Group, who believes holiday buying will plunge 2.9 percent this holiday season.

But the shoppers defied predictions last year that Black Friday sales would decline. In 2008, the National Retail Federation reported 25 million more shoppers crowded malls on Black Friday than the year before. Experts had predicted a decline of 19 million shoppers. Spending per shopper was up in 2008, too, $372.57 compared with $347.55 in 2007. Figures for 2009 will come out in early December.

According to reports from mall managers across metro Atlanta, stores that opened early and offered deep discounts were rewarded by beleaguered consumers looking for bargains.

Several malls believed the success of earlier hours on Black Friday and stores opening on Thanksgiving day is a trend more stores will follow next year given their popularity.

"At Phipps Plaza, I saw a lot of Belk bags," said Dewayne Herbert, manager of the Simon-owned mall. Belk opened at 4 a.m. and offered door-buster deals, while the mall opened at 8 a.m.

"Belk exceeded their numbers from last year. We started doing these earlier openings three years ago, and the demand just keeps growing," he said.

Herbert saw more stores getting creative, offering time-limited deals, like 10 percent off all purchases until 1 p.m.

"Retailers are really responding to the Walmart/Target early bird specials," he said.

At Gwinnett Place Mall, manager Derrick Brown said the amount of people at the mall during the wee hours doubled this year. The mall had opened an hour earlier.

At Atlantic Station, there were about 300 people stationed outside of Target at 6:30 a.m., still waiting for "blockbuster specials," said mall general manager Michael Diamantides.

Old Navy had a line of about 50 at 4 a.m. – they were selling a lot of sweaters, which had been advertised, he said.

A lot is riding on the holiday shopping season.

In the past year, weaker retailers, like Circuit City and Linens ‘N Things, went out of business.

Remaining retailers cut inventories, staffing levels and closed underperforming stores, giving them a cushion to weather the long recession.

Still, bargain hunters seemed to know to shop early for the best deals and best inventory. Many retailers won't be replenishing their stock, especially on items with the deepest discounts.

Photographer Vino Wong contributed to this report.