Black Friday Frenzy in the ArkLaMiss
By: Alanna Quillen
Updated: November 25, 2012
MONROE -- The Black Friday frenzy kicked off with a mad rush in Monroe.
One family makes Black Friday a tradition -- they traveled miles and conquered store after store wearing t-shirts saying, "3 SUVs, ....."
"We've been to Minden Walmart, been through Ruston, Target, now Best Buy and on our way to the mall," said shopper Kristin Reeves.
Reeves says shopping Black Friday is a right of passage for the women in her family.
"At 12 years old, it's exciting to start shopping with your aunts and cousins," she said. "Then you're just the errand girl, running around the store, holding a spot in line"
The line at Best Buy wrapped all the way down the entire block of stores -- that's about a thousand people waiting to get in.
"From a retail point of view, I love that the customers wanna come in and shop with us," said Rachel Jordan, Best Buy general manager. "Would I personally go out? I've worked retail for five years, I don't know if I want to go out into the craziness."
Many stores could only let the first 100 customers in, gradually filling up the store to avoid any injuries and problems.
Ahmed El-Giar, a die-hard Black Friday shopper, snagged the first spot in Best Buy's line, but only after waiting for 12 hours since Thursday morning at 11 a.m. He helped pass the time playing shopping cart basketball and in the parking lot.
Some just wanted to come out to Black Friday for fun.
"I was just bored," said shopper Bobbi Smith.
Others came for big ticket items like laptops, cameras, and big screen TV's.
And some folks even used Black Friday to their advantage.
"We came up with this idea to raise money and sell hot chocolate for a school trip to Washington, D.C.," said eighth-grader Allyse Cash, whose group sold 140 cups of hot chocolate just a matter of time.
The Pecanland Mall is a hot spot for shoppers -- it took an hour and a half for the end of the line at Old Navy to finally reach the front door.
Black Friday shopping pro's have a lot of advice to give, especially this:
"Leave your husbands at home, ladies," said Reeves. "They get in the way."
One family makes Black Friday a tradition -- they traveled miles and conquered store after store wearing t-shirts saying, "3 SUVs, ....."
"We've been to Minden Walmart, been through Ruston, Target, now Best Buy and on our way to the mall," said shopper Kristin Reeves.
Reeves says shopping Black Friday is a right of passage for the women in her family.
"At 12 years old, it's exciting to start shopping with your aunts and cousins," she said. "Then you're just the errand girl, running around the store, holding a spot in line"
The line at Best Buy wrapped all the way down the entire block of stores -- that's about a thousand people waiting to get in.
"From a retail point of view, I love that the customers wanna come in and shop with us," said Rachel Jordan, Best Buy general manager. "Would I personally go out? I've worked retail for five years, I don't know if I want to go out into the craziness."
Many stores could only let the first 100 customers in, gradually filling up the store to avoid any injuries and problems.
Ahmed El-Giar, a die-hard Black Friday shopper, snagged the first spot in Best Buy's line, but only after waiting for 12 hours since Thursday morning at 11 a.m. He helped pass the time playing shopping cart basketball and in the parking lot.
Some just wanted to come out to Black Friday for fun.
"I was just bored," said shopper Bobbi Smith.
Others came for big ticket items like laptops, cameras, and big screen TV's.
And some folks even used Black Friday to their advantage.
"We came up with this idea to raise money and sell hot chocolate for a school trip to Washington, D.C.," said eighth-grader Allyse Cash, whose group sold 140 cups of hot chocolate just a matter of time.
The Pecanland Mall is a hot spot for shoppers -- it took an hour and a half for the end of the line at Old Navy to finally reach the front door.
Black Friday shopping pro's have a lot of advice to give, especially this:
"Leave your husbands at home, ladies," said Reeves. "They get in the way."
