A nearly three-decade run of Black Friday shopping continues

Photo: Christie Barclay, Sue Ellen Barclay, and Madison Adams are among the first in line at JCPenneys ahead of the store opening on Black Friday at 5 a.m. (Courtesy photo)  

While some early sales have been ongoing for the past week, the Friday after Thanksgiving has traditionally been coined as Black Friday, the start of the holiday shopping season.  

Massive sales and promotions, both in stores and online, were again offered Friday as shoppers scooped up big bargains and retailers used the deals to get an initial sense of the demand for holiday sales. 

The term Black Friday is often used to indicate whether the store’s bottom line for the year will end up after the day in the “black,” or in a deficit, in the “red.” 

For one family, Black Friday has been more than an early morning hunt for bargains. It’s been a bonding experience, a growing bond of a sisterhood that has been maintained now for nearly three decades. 

Friday, Christie Barclay of Nesbit, daughter Sue Ellen Barclay and niece Madison Adams all continued the tradition, braving chilly temperatures and the early morning hour looking for deals. 

For Christie and Sue Ellen, it marked the 29th consecutive year they have shopped Black Friday together. Sue Ellen’s twin sister Mary Jo Burger couldn’t be there to join in person, but she was there in spirit and with Christie holding her shopping list and credit card in hand. 

The morning attack was premeditated and the route predetermined, as the shoppers began the day at JCPenney in the Southaven Towne Center mall promptly at 5 a.m. 

“The first stop was at JCPenney, because at 5 a.m. they gave out like a gift card, a 10 dollars off a 10, and a mini snow globe,” Barclay said. “We just ran in and got the card.” 

From there it was quickly on to Kohl’s in Southaven, which also opened at 5 a.m. They did that because the first 200 people in line when the store opened got Kohl’s cash or something else. 

The next stop was to Lowe’s, which became one of the best stops because the first 25 people received a Lowe’s bucket with tools and other items worth up to $150 plus a 20 percent off coupon for use during the next week.  

Another stop was to Shoe Carnival for coupons where the first shoppers received 10 dollars off a purchase of 10 items.

Then it was back to JCPenneys to shop the deals they picked up on the first stop, then back to Kohl’s, and again back to Lowe’s. All this was completed by noon on Friday.  

The savings they received for their early Black Friday morning “deal hunting,” as they call it, were impressive. At JCPenneys, six items worth $125 were bought for just nine dollars. From Lowe’s, the three free buckets of tools and items and then more items all worth more than $680 left the store for just $109 and change. Christie added $70 in gift cards she had saved over the year from rewards programs, so the final out-of-pocket cost from Lowe’s came down to just under $40. And, from Shoe Carnival, three pairs of shoes and a Nike six-pack of socks, a $145 value on retail, were bought for just $35.

They even stopped at Five Below in Olive Branch, where they found a deal on squishmallows. A regular price for eight of them is $47.60. Today’s price was just 16 dollars.

And how did they do?

Yes, the group saved a significant amount of money for their morning of shopping. But Christie is quick to point out there’s another reason for the adventure. Bargain hunters can become a close knit group with the same goal of pinching pennies, or dollars, in this case.  

“It’s about saving money, but it’s also about the camaraderie,” she said. “Black Friday shoppers are mostly women. There were two teachers we met today, for instance, they did this all the time and we shared our ads with them. My daughter shared her gloves with one of the teacher assistants and they had a similar plan that we had.”  

Deal preparations involve finding out what stores are offering what and when they are doing it, starting with who’s offering free stuff and then determining what stores might offer something worth waiting in line for.  Checking out the ads ahead of the day also helps determine the plan of deal hunting attack. 

“Here’s our game plan, when are we getting up, who’s getting the coffee?” Barclay said. “We have the chairs ready, we bring some water to drink, caffeine, snacks and a blanket, if we need it.”  

The history of this Black Friday tradition goes back to when they were living in Texas, Christie said. 

“In Kmart, they gave away tins of cookies for free,” she said. “We thought we had hit the big time.”  

Even when they were separated by distance, they always planned to meet somewhere each Black Friday to keep the tradition going. Other family members have been involved from time-to-time, but for 29 years, the Barclay gals have always come together to keep their sisterhood bond strong, and their pocketbooks filled. 

Nationally, Black Friday is one of the most lucrative days for retailers, generating billions in sales annually. In 2023, U.S. consumers spent over $9.8 billion online on Black Friday alone.