While for many, Thanksgiving was a chance to celebrate with families and give thanks for what they had. But shoppers were out in full force as the first day of the holiday shopping season started last night.
Doorbuster sales were held at stores throughout Indiana County, and shoppers jammed many stores to get the latest deals. The Wal-Mart store in Indiana was packed as shoppers got their deals and waited in line until the sales started at 6:00pm.
But some at Wal-Mart were not happy as some shoppers have said that some of the holiday bargains were gone before they had a chance at them. Reports say that some shoppers claimed a third-party online company grabbed all the sales items like toys, housewares and others before the sales started, and checked out with the items. A U-Haul was spotted outside of Wal-Mart with several people loading items into it. There’s been no confirmation from Wal-Mart on the incident, but officials say they are looking into it.
Meanwhile at the Indiana Mall, business was booming at the three anchor stores and several of the smaller stores that were open throughout the day. Renosky said so many customers were at the Bon Ton and JC Penny, she actually had problems finding places to park in those lots.
Shopping is expected to continue today, with many stores having more deals or reopening early for customers to capitalize on the holiday weekend, but several stores like Wal-Mart and The Bon Ton in the Indiana Mall stayed open throughout the night serving customers.
Renosky said that the crowds this morning were not as big as yesterday, but she also conceded that many people go to big box stores out of town before returning to the mall, so she expects a bump in shoppers later today.
While today is the day for most of the deals at large stores, tomorrow has been set up as “Small Business Saturday” with many different deals at small businesses. This includes Downtown Indiana, who will offer their Downtown Dollars program at participating businesses.
