SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Shoppers were able to let their meals digest this year before taking advantage of deals in person.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many retailers chose to start their Black Friday deals days, and even weeks, before the actual day after Thanksgiving. Walmart, BestBuy, and Target, big box retailers usually open on Thanksgiving, elected to stay close and open their doors early for in-person shopping on Friday, instead.
The hot items this year are the latest gaming systems from Sony and Microsoft, the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Just under 100 people were in line at Best Buy at Arden Fair Mall when the store opened Friday morning, hoping to snag some kind of deal.
“I’m trying to get some of the great deals. Whether I can get my hands on an XBox or a PlayStation or a big screen TV, whatever can make the holidays cheerful and not let this COVID[-19] bring us down,” Chris Jones, Sacramento resident and Black Friday shopper, said.
Last year, big box retailers kicked off Black Friday deals just as families finished Thanksgiving dinner. Drawing a record 190 million shoppers from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation. This year, retailers encouraged online shopping and contactless pickup. Many Americans have moved to online shopping for the holidays in recent years.
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