The aisles of Fred Meyer in Fisher’s Landing were bustling the morning of Black Friday, when the store expected thousands of people to spend money there.
The five-day weekend between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday holds some of the busiest shopping days of the year for retailers nationwide. The National Retail Federation reported that a record 200.4 million people shopped last year during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
The federation expected 183.4 million people to shop this year.
Vancouver resident Sara Cupelli was one of them. Enticed by Fred Meyer’s $10 sale on Crock-Pots, she loaded her cart with small appliances at the Fisher’s Landing store. She’s not usually a big Black Friday shopper. But she has a new house to outfit.
“Black Friday has been a huge success so far,” said Kendra Doyel, vice president of merchandising for Fred Meyer.
Doyel said a line snaked around the Fisher’s Landing store, 16600 S.E. McGillivray Blvd., when doors opened at 5 a.m. Some of those people, she added, had been standing in line since 3:30 a.m.
“Associates have been in the store since about midnight to prepare for them,” Doyel said.
Doyel travels to numerous Fred Meyer locations on Black Friday. The stores, she said, have seemed a bit busier this year.
Doyel said Fred Meyer’s 132 stores have averaged about 5,500 shoppers across multiple Black Fridays. It’s one of the busiest shopping days of the year for the retailer.
People come for the famous half-off sock sale, but Doyel said Fred Meyer also offers good deals on televisions, AirPods, apparel, toys and seasonal decorations. And the sale extends through today.
Doyel and her team started preparing for this Black Friday right after Christmas last year. They started procuring products, creating a market plan and then a budget.
“Really, we’ve had this year’s plan buttoned up and ready to go for several months now,” she said.
A National Retail Federation survey reported clothing, gift cards and toys were the top gifts people expected to give this holiday season, followed by books, video games and other media, as well as food and candy.
The survey said this year’s top toys were Lego bricks; Hot Wheels and cars for boys; and Barbies, dolls and Lego for girls.
The retail federation expects holiday shoppers to spend about $640 each on gifts for family, friends and co-workers.
Black Friday isn’t the same holiday it was 10 or 15 years ago, Doyel said.
Retailers like Fred Meyer have spread out their deals ahead of Thanksgiving weekend.
“Maybe it’s slowed down that rush first thing in the morning,” Doyel said.
But it’s still very much an event, she said.
