整夜排队以后，小编也终于以350刀的价格拿到了自己想要的HP笔记本，而且买到了两个！ ---- 黑色星期五疯狂的小编
Nov 28, 2008 4:47 pm US/Central
Shoppers Swarm For Bargains On Black Friday
Retailers Hope Traditional Shopping Day Will Help In Poor Economy
CHICAGO (CBS) ― Shoppers descended ("袭击") on malls, big box retailers and department stores in droves (一大群) this Black Friday, but for many people, it's more about saving money than spending it.
A little farther south in the Loop along State Street, shoppers got an early start and a good look at what stores have been doing to capture their dollars.
"A lot of discounts, a lot of money off, and right now with the economy, I think it helps to get out there and shop today," said shopper Nicole Bellino.
"We went to Brooks Brothers, found shirts that were on sale," added Victor Frankel. "You walked in there, you get an extra 15 percent off if you bought it before 12, and then MasterCharge took another 5 percent off, so it's a fabulous (惊人的，难以置信的) deal."
At Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, some shoppers turned out in their pajamas (睡衣), arriving before 5 a.m. to get details and hightail (速或迅速行动，) it out the door.
"I saved a lot of money coming in at 6 a.m. Yep(<俚>是), we went straight to what we got, looked at the sale papers the night before, and went right to what we were looking for," said Helen Williamson.
Jarrett Williamson and girlfriend Laquitta Stoudemire purchased an engagement ring, but he told her they were just shopping.
"I went, 'Babe, we're going to go Christmas shopping, we're going to just pick up a few things, so she didn't know," Robinson said.
"It's romantic, it's going to be Christmas, so I'm excited," Stoudemire said.
"The economy is kind of tough right now, but I think, a lot of shoppers, this is what we need to stimulate growth," said shopper Greg Thompson. "Just to come out here and do what we can to help the economy."
Many of the deepest discounts end at noon, but for traditionalists, shopping is a full-day experience.
Shoppers Get Extra-Early Start
Even for shoppers who left home right after Thanksgiving dinner, traffic and long lines were likely still an issue.
At one strip mall in Lombard just off Butterfield Road, more than 1,000 people were queued up for the Best Buy alone at 5 a.m. Customers were being allowed in 10 at a time.
Lines were even longer at the Chicago Premium Outlet Mall in Aurora, and traffic jams were building nearby at on the Reagan Tollway.
Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg was open early, and the corridors and escalators were already packed by 5:30 a.m.
Some shoppers lined up as early as 7 p.m. Thursday night, many of them men. They saw the ads in the papers, calculated the savings, and came up with a strategy.
"I'm probably saving about $1,000, because I'm buying a Blu-Ray and some GPS, some DVDs, so this is the one time when I can save a lot of money, and I've got four kids to give it all to," said Emilio Hernandez.
"We went to different stores and checked out the lines and such," said Shuoming Fung. "This was the shortest one."
Woodfield General Manager Marc Strich said customers were attracted to the bargains retailers have been offering.
"People are definitely coming out; taking advantage of all the tremendous sales that are out there," Strich said. "With five fewer shopping days this season, the retailers are getting very aggressive with their sale prices."
Some stores have placed their entire inventory on sale, Strich said.
At Gurnee Mills, the crowds got out of hand in the wee hours of the morning, police said.
Gurnee police were sent to the mall to calm shoppers who have become "rowdy" and "pushy," police said.
Officers were trying to act as mediators between shoppers who have begun to turn on each other. Police said at certain stores said some shoppers are pushing and shoving, and acting rowdy.
"There are angry shoppers mixed with happy shoppers," police said.
Police said one arrest had been made at the mall but the circumstances did not stem from an unruly shopping incident.
Darrin S. Reed, 24, of Waukegan, was arrested for battery after allegedly shoving a security guard following a fight with his girlfriend. The incident happened about 12:30 a.m. at the mall, Gurnee Police Sgt. David Farrow said.
Retailers Nervous About Sales
Time will tell whether the droves of shoppers in Chicago and elsewhere will provide the boost that retailers have been seeking after many of them have spent recent months swimming in red ink (亏损是用红笔记帐的 in the red亏损 ).
Eighty-nine percent of shoppers said they planned to spend the same, or less, than they did last year. Only 11 percent plan to spend more.
"This year Black Friday takes on a different dynamic," said retail analyst Marshall Cohen. "The consumer has already seen the retailer blink months ago and that means the consumer has the ability to wait as long as they want. You're going to be able to get anything, anywhere at almost any price."
In past years, sale items were positioned near the front to draw customers in. Now they're everywhere.
While clothing and toys top the holiday shopping list, electronics and video games are not too far behind. And despite dismal (depressing) predictions, Best Buy's Michael Vitelli thinks Black Friday could surprise everyone.
But another statistic may give retailers pause - just about 11 percent of shoppers haven't paid off their holiday shopping debt from last year.
Analysts say shoppers may stick to smaller gifts like cosmetics rather than $1,000 flat-panel TVs in a holiday season expected to be the weakest in decades.
In recent years, merchants including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys "R" Us Inc., have been pushing earlier the sales and expanded hours that were typically reserved for Black Friday - named because it historically was when stores turned a profit - to jump-start the season.
But in this year's deteriorating (恶化的) economy, stores from luxury retailers to consumer electronics chains pressed the panic button, slashing prices up to 60 percent on even new merchandise. After reporting the worst October sales in at least 39 years, stores are seeing more weak sales in November, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Index, which measures sales at stores opened at least a year.
Kmart, a division of Sears Holdings Corp., started offering products at what it calls "Black Friday prices" earlier in the month - the first time it had done so. Drugstore chain CVS Caremark Corp. will launch a weeklong "Black Friday" promotion on Sunday, offering early morning deals on items ranging from GPS devices to digital photos frames.
CBS 2's Joanie Lum and Suzanne Le Mignot and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)