Thanksgiving is just around the corner— it turns out turkey and casserole aren’t the only things on the minds of Renton residents.

Black Friday, the holiday for great deals subsequent to Thanksgiving, has become more of an entire weekend festivity. For some stores, sales aren’t traditionally starting by opening in the early hours of that Friday—many big department stores open their doors the night of Thanksgiving itself. This is true for stores like Target in the Landing, Walmart, Kohls, Macys, certain Dicks Sporting Goods locations, and other like businesses. Most store hours are available to be tracked online, and ads for deals are also available.

From great deals on TV’s to “impossible-to-pass-up” bundles on video games and movies; Black Friday is where some families look to make big purchases, and find themselves saving a pretty penny on gifts for the holidays.

To get a bit of insight on how some families go about shopping, we spoke with a Renton High School Senior, Aadesh Dutt, who let us on a few secrets.

“Although Black Friday starts on a Friday, me and my family start our shopping experience on Thursday. Depending on what time the stores open we plan accordingly. We try to get their a little early to wait in so that we can get some of the fresh deals the stores have to offer. For example, this year we are planning to go to JCPenney since it opens at 2… probably get there around 1:45 to find at least a parking spot and wait in line, etc. The crowds are insane at many stores,” explained Dutt.

For Dutt, as an employee at Target, he is surrounded by the process of preparations for Black Friday. He plans to visit Target and go to the mall, but sometimes he and his family plan to drive a little way to take advantage of outlet stores prices.

“Then we will visit Target, Macy’s, etc. $10 flannels, 20-50% off coupons, $20 boots and many more. We like to purchase things we know we will use. Then probably on the actual Black Friday day, we will maybe drive 2 hours north to exit 200 for outlet mall shopping,” described Dutt.

Another student, Sophomore, Natalie Sanchez, shared how Black Friday serves as a great occasion for her family to make those bigger purchases.

“Last time I went, I and my family got some really good deals on TVs at Walmart. It was great because it was very affordable and we were able to save money,” shared Sanchez.

To get some insight from the business end, we asked Marketing and IB Business Management Teacher, Mr. Gustavus Lawlar, to give his opinion of black Friday.

He told us, ”It’s for the consumers,” and “If you really want to get the new sales buy it in the offseason.”

Many customers share these same sentiments, agreeing that getting caught in a large crowd of shoppers, in some ways risking a life, isn’t worth the oftentimes mediocre deals. But if it’s worth it to anyone trying to save some cash, they just need to be prepared to wake up early enough to see it through.

Because as Aadesh mentioned in closing, “The early bird really does get worm.”

Keep Track of Black Friday Ads and Dates:

https://patch.com/washington/across-wa/black-friday-2019-sales-when-stores-open-washington

https://www.cnet.com/news/black-friday-2019-major-ads-all-the-leaked-ads-from-walmart-best-buy-amazon-target-gamestop/

Want to get involved? Submit a letter to us at:

https://rhshawkeye.com/sumbit-a-letter/

Want more info on the story? Contact me and give me your feedback!

Austemm20@gmail.com