The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

LOCAL businesses said Black Friday was successful this year as customers dashed to the stores to catch the sales.

The Tribune canvassed several businesses on Black Friday, which was on November 25.

There were customers anxiously waiting in line with shopping carts and baskets filled with items that were on sale.

Celeste Romer, customer representative of BTC, said from 6am when they opened their location at the Southwest Plaza, customers quickly came in to take advantage of the store’s 50 percent off Friday sale.

“It’s been awesome. Lots of customers have been coming in since 6am this morning when we opened and it’s been more than we expected,” Ms Romer said.

When asked how Black Friday was compared to last year when there was a mask mandate and stricter protocols due to the high level of COVID-19 cases, Ms Romer responded: “I feel now customers are coming in more and we have a better turnout. Last year we didn’t see as many people considering the circumstances, but people are out and about and they’re getting what they need to get done.”

Shawn Gomez, marketing director at CBS Bahamas, said that there was a crowd of people anxiously waiting to get in the store after 3am.

Ms Gomez said CBS opened its doors at 6am and offered up to 75 percent off on items.

“So shortly before 4am we had people lining up already. It’s always a fun time for us, a lot of people anticipate it because we do the early morning shopping that is much like the United States.

“They like the excitement and the hype of it. I think for us it’s special because we have two stores now, the Southwest Plaza store and the one that’s on Robinson Road. And we are doing Black Friday for the first time on both sides simultaneously,” Ms Gomez said.

When asked what some of the most popular items that flew off the shelves this year during the sale, Ms Gomez said ceiling fans, irons, air fryers and small appliances for homes were in high demand for customers.

Meanwhile, Merline Cash, manager of Fine Threads, said although Black Friday was a success for the store, they still pulled in the same amount of sales compared to last year. The store also offered 20 percent off on items with up to 40 percent off on selected items.

“I didn’t really see a big difference because the people were still shopping even with the mask mandate. So, there’s not really a big difference for us,” she said.

Ms Cash described the flow of customers on Friday as pretty good.

Black Friday, the day after the US Thanksgiving holiday, is regarded as the first day of Christmas shopping in America. It’s a day when US retailers normally have big sales, and the trend has caught on locally.