By Patrick Donachie
The Black Friday shopping crush was steady but manageable at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center, according to customers and store employees. Many credited the popularity of online shopping with the decrease in the number of shoppers for the post-Thanksgiving tradition.
Shontel, a Queens Village resident, considered a sweater at the American Eagle store in the shopping complex, and said that lines had been “long, but moving fast.” She had already stopped at Macy’s in Manhasset and Kohl’s in Fresh Meadows and reported no problems.
“Because everything’s on sale online now, that makes it so much easier,” she said, noting she had already taken advantage of Black Friday deals throughout the previous week. The sales, she said, were available for several days before Friday.
Annette, the manager at American Eagle, agreed with Shontel’s assessment. She noted that it had been a slow morning, without any lines outside the store, and the parking lot had not been excessively crowded when she arrived that morning. She was excited about the deals of 40 percent off on everything in the store, with sweaters that often go for $60 to $90 being sold for $25.
“Through the years, because of online shopping, the trend of going out to shop has gone down,” she said. “If you don’t like lines, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home.”
A few storefronts past the American Eagle store, Mike, a manager at GameStop said about 20 people were on line for the store’s 5 a.m. opening. He said the crush of customers was about the same as it had been for the last few Black Fridays.
“The big one is the systems, that’s what people are going for,” he said, pointing out game systems like PlayStation 4 and XBox One that were being sold for $250, when they would normally retail for $300. He also pointed out the GameStop Funko! Mystery Box, which was being sold for $20. Each ‘box’ contained a mystery collectible figurine for customers.
Each manager said it was possible things would pick up in the evening hours, between lunch and dinner. Angelica, an assistant store manager at the Gap, said her crew was already preparing.
“We’re expecting a crush later,” she said.
Reach reporter Patrick Donachie by e-mail at pdona
