Black Friday Shoppers Worry About the Risk This Year
Photo Courtesy of Jessica Baliares
Box Lunch Pearlridge prepares for Black Friday Crowds
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is one of the biggest shopping holidays in America, according to the Farm Bureau Financial Services. For many people, it has become a tradition to wake up early and go hunting for those deals. But with the Covid-19 pandemic people have had to evaluate if going out to shop is really worth the risk.
The shopping holiday as we know it started in the 1950s but retailers didn’t decide to take advantage of the day until the 1980s, according to Good House Keeping.
“My family makes it a full-on mission to go Black Friday shopping,” said Makana Ieriko, a 21-year-old from Kaneohe. “We typically spend a week planning out what stores we are gonna go to and the order that we are going to them. This year we have decided that only some of us are gonna go out and the rest will be shopping the online deals.”
This year, some major chain stores have decided to make their deals all week long. Stores like Target and Box Lunch started their in-store sales on Sunday to have people come in during the week versus all at once on Friday. Other stores have also started their online deals on Sunday but are waiting until Friday for the in-store purchase deals.
“I honestly don’t do well with crowds at all, so I try to avoid going Black Friday shopping,” said Cassie Tam, a 23-year-old from Pearl City. “But due to a lot of stores having their deals early, I have been able to score some good deals that I would normally have to wait until Cyber Monday to get.”
One of the main concerns of people about Black Friday shopping is the fact that there will be a large crowd of people and there won’t be any sort of regulation to make sure that everyone is following the rules. Safety has been one of the main focuses this year with the pandemic and some people are not willing to take that risk.
“The main thing I am worried about is another outbreak because all these people wanted good deals,” said Kailey Thorn, a 24-year-old from Ewa Beach. “I am normally always down to go for a good deal but this year I am more worried about staying safe than saving some money. I personally have decided to go the online route just because the deals are about the same.”
Many malls have adjusted their hours for Black Friday this year. Ala Moana will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Pearlridge will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m, Windward will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Kamakana Ali’i will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.