Black Friday in Merced started early on Thanksgiving

Black Friday in Merced may have been a little upstaged by “Brown Thursday,” a term coined to refer to retailers opening their doors on Thanksgiving to get a head start on sales.

“I think it’s a little bit slower than normal because a lot of people went shopping on Thanksgiving instead of spending it with their families,” said Keri Maciel, who owns three businesses inside the Merced Mall – Maciel & Company, Keri’s Gold & Silver and Treasured Ornaments.

Some larger retailers said kicking off Black Friday on Thursday night provided a big boost in sales.

Maciel, on the other hand, said she was determined to give her employees Thanksgiving off to be with their families. “I think it’s really important for people to sit down and enjoy their family and take time to give thanks,” she said. “Somebody has to work if you’re shopping.”

Many of the mall’s anchor stores opened at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving, which trumped some of the other retailers’ sales the morning of Black Friday.

“Usually at 6 a.m. there are people waiting in line, but it was pretty quiet,” Maciel said. “The first half of the morning was quieter than normal, and now it’s definitely picking up.”

Despite big-box stores competing for sales by starting earlier and staying open later, Maciel’s businesses still saw a boost in foot traffic throughout the day. She plans to take part in Small Business Saturday today, a day to support local businesses.

Another Merced retailer near the mall said opening two hours earlier on Thanksgiving made a big dent in Black Friday sales.

Nick Sampson, Target’s executive team lead, said the store opened at 6 p.m. and stayed open overnight. A consistent flow of customers rushed through the store all night and into the early morning hours of Black Friday, he said.

“In comparison, we are busier than last year and I attribute it to opening a little earlier,” Sampson said. “We’ve had a lot of people lining up early in the morning and foot traffic has been consistent all day long.”

Sampson said some new door-buster deals, such as $2 towels, also drew a large crowd of shoppers to Target, in addition to deep discounts on big-ticket electronics.

On the other side of town, the staff at Christina’s Fine Clothing in the Bear Creek Shopping Center said this Black Friday was the best the store has seen.

“It’s really fun and fast-paced. Everyone’s happy and getting ready for Christmas,” said sales associate Kara Peraino.

As Black Friday slowly wound down, many businesses were looking forward to the next big push in sales.

Peraino said Christina’s is planning to offer new sale items today for Small Business Saturday and anticipates additional business through its website on Cyber Monday.

This story was originally published November 28, 2014 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Black Friday in Merced started early on Thanksgiving."