Holiday shopping kicks off with Black Friday

ALBANY — The day after Thanksgiving, when belts are snug and families across America are well into their fourth portion of turkey and dressing, all the deviled eggs are gone and pumpkin pie tastes better the next day, holiday shopping begins in earnest with a nationwide race to snatch the best deals off the sales floor in kids’ toys, electronics, furniture and more.

Black Friday Christmas shopping has been a day-after-Thanksgiving tradition since the 1950s but wasn’t officially recognized as “Black Friday” until the 1980s. In the 1990s, Black Friday’s antithesis, “Buy Nothing Day,” entered the race for individuals who want to make a stand against consumerism, but when it comes to the holidays, a deal’s a deal.

Stores across America open their doors with door-buster savings, discounts and deals that are unmatched throughout the rest of the year. It doesn’t matter if a person needs a new mattress, a refrigerator or just enjoys the thrill of the hunt, everything is for sale in limited supply. Let the race begin.

The question is, “Where do I shop?” A simple answer is the place that you think holds your golden item. But is it that simple? It seems that everyone these days is carrying a little bit of everything at a similar price point. For instance, Walmart, Target and GameStop all have the same Playstation 4 and Spiderman game bundle for $199, and Belk started selling toys to meet customer demand after the fall of a certain toy giant.

Maybe you don’t need a new washer and dryer set with customizable speeds this year, but what if I told you that AutoZone had discounts on motor oil for Black Friday or that JOANN had its fabric for 70 percent off? The possibilities are endless.

In some cases, the buck doesn’t stop there. Sure, nothing can beat a good door-buster, but if waking up at 3 a.m. to stalk a flat-screen television and a new pair of kicks isn’t your thing, shoppers across America can take advantage of Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.

Small Business Saturday began in 2010 as part of the “shop small” initiative by American Express. The American economy was in the downward spiral of a recession, and businesses everywhere were suffering — especially small businesses. The good news is that a way to revitalize local business is to spend money at them, and what better way to encourage commerce than to make a day of it? So we did.

In 2011, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution in support of Small Business Saturday for all 50 states to participate. How often is it that we see the Senate pass anything unanimously?

Small Business Saturday is an excellent way to support the community while chiseling away at your holiday shopping list, especially if you need a couple of days to recover from the great turkey nap.

Cyber Monday is the Black Friday version of online shopping that takes place on the first Monday after Thanksgiving. Shop.org coined the term in 2005, and it makes sense that there would be an eCommerce answer to an age-old question, “Where in the world am I supposed to find a Limited Edition Barbie Dream House, an air fryer and 13 pounds of reindeer feed in time for Christmas?”

If it ain’t Walmart, it’s the internet.

Cyber Monday not only turns Amazon into a Wild West gold town, it also gives smaller online retailers a chance to compete with bigger businesses.

A Black Friday/Cyber Monday cheat for you holiday shoppers out there is to put on your best pair of pajamas, heat up your Thanksgiving leftovers and stretch out your typing fingers. Online deals keep you out of holiday crowds and in the comfort of your own living room. Try on clothes and shoes in advance in-store before ordering to achieve maximum purchasing confidence.

Albany small business “Downtown Dawsyn” owner Morgan Layfield is busy gearing up to be a triple-threat this holiday season with sales available on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, after clearing out most of her stock at a market in Valdosta over the weekend.

Downtown Dawsyn is putting the “spin” on Black Friday, where customers can spin a wheel to win a 20-50-percent-off discount of their purchase and giving away VIP bags for the first 10 people through the door. Calling it a Black Friday after-party, doors will open at 11 a.m. and close regularly at 7 p.m. However, the sale prices last only until 3 p.m., making Downtown Dawsyn’s Black Friday a true door-buster.

For Small Business Saturday, Layfield is stepping up her game. Customers are getting the royal holiday shopping treatment with coffee available from Jethro’s Coffee — a local small business set to open soon in downtown Albany — live portrait painting from Katie Curry, acoustic music from Devon Cooper and a peek at new collections and pieces from jewelry artisans Salvage Addict and Adelaide Beads. That doesn’t even include the raffle for a $50 gift card for customers who bring in a receipt showing they shopped and dined locally.

Another local business owner offering sales on Black Friday is Queen Bling Founder Cassandra Haynes. Queen Bling features jewelry, apparel and other accessories and was launched in 2015 to help generate funds for Haynes’s woman’s aid organization, Queen Bee Sisterhood.

The Queen Bee Sisterhood’s motto is “a little bling makes everything better.” The ministry provides relief for women in need in the form of materials and referral services following natural or humanitarian tragedies.

Queen Bee items and information about Queen Bee Sisterhood can be found through Queen Bee’s Facebook group located at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1600206373372695/.

Whether your plans include racking up on cold-weather, outdoor clothing at Tractor Supply Company, a year’s worth of shampoo at ULTA or new faucets for every sink in your home at Home Depot, enjoy the holiday season. Holiday cheer is the gift that keeps on giving and never needs a door-buster discount.

Aja Walker contributed to this story.

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Gypsy Crow

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