Thanksgiving joining ranks of bargain shopping days

ALBANY — In case you haven’t noticed, Thanksgiving, the traditional start to the holiday season, seems to have a different feel to it this year.

Christmas lights and music arrived a bit earlier, more people seem to be eating their Thanksgiving meals at restaurants rather than at the house and status of Black Friday as the biggest shopping day of the weekend is in peril, with many stores opting to start their holiday sales at on Thursday evening.

People still pile in their cars to visit and eat at Grandma’s, or break out the tables for an extra 10 or so relatives at the house, but how we celebrate the season is changing. For many, it’s not your Grandma’s holiday season any more.

The National Retail Federation says that about 140 million Americans will brave the stores this Thanksgiving weekend, with the lion’s share expected to be in retail stores today. But an increasing number of shoppers are starting their trips to the store before the turkey has been put away. In fact, expectations were that 25.6 million shoppers would hit stores for Thanksgiving evening and night bargains.

“Black Friday is no longer about waking up at the crack of dawn to stand in long lines and hope for the best. At Walmart, it has become a family shopping tradition where everyone shops at some point throughout the weekend,” said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising officer, Walmart U.S. “This year, we’re blowing it out with five days of deals in-store and online.”

While Walmart’s new marketing strategy might be a hit with corporate, the blending of the seasons does not seem to be resonating with the local public.

“What do I think about it? Bah, humbug,” Robert Krause, of Stewart County, said as he was waiting to be seated at B.J.’s Country Buffet for a Thanksgiving meal with his daughter. “Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving, Halloween is Halloween, Christmas is Christmas. Today, we have 12 days of Christmas before Christmas. The decorations are coming out early. The kids have become infatuated with receiving gifts, while the meaning of the season is about giving.

“No, it’s not your grandmother’s Christmas anymore because grandma is left spending it alone.”

Barbara Thomas, of Albany, was standing in front of Walmart Thursday and had a different take on things.

“If they want to move Black Friday to Thursday afternoon, it’s fine with me,” Thomas said. “I don’t need Black Friday to get what I want. If I want it, I’ll buy it when I feel like it.

“To me, it’s all in the people’s upbringing. I was brought up to observe Christmas as the birth of Christ, and it saddens me that we seem to be losing that connection. It’s diminished because we don’t pray and thank God enough for what we have.”

Amanda Anglin and Kevin Wilkes, of Leesburg, were lugging three boxes of a Thanksgiving meal out of the Cracker Barrel early Thursday afternoon, and stopped for a moment to give their opinions.

“The whole season seems to have changed so quickly, everybody is in such a hurry nowadays” Anglin said. “This is the first time we’ve ever bought a Thanksgiving meal, except for last year when we were camping during the holiday.

“The traditional Black Friday is going away. My daughter and I liked waiting in line at 2 a.m for the stores to open. Now, they want to open at 6 in the evening on Thanksgiving day and it’s totally ruined. Who wants to eat and say, ‘Let’s go shopping?’ I don’t like it at all.”

Wilkes then piped up, saying, “Let’s do away with all the holidays, Then we could spend more time hunting.”

Sheronda Davis, of Albany, has worked in retail for the past 15 years. She has an idea of what has happened.

“Times are tight and the Christmas season can make or break a business and they are trying to generate every dollar they can get out of us,” Davis said. “People talk about how much money they saved during a sale, but they don’t talk about what else they bought while they were in the store.

“It’s all about the money now, and that is sad.”