Local shoppers pass the bucks on Black Friday
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

Chandra and Radha Gunda take their 18-month-old child, Sreeja, with them to Ashley Furniture, North Brunswick, on Black Friday.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Black Friday is a name given to two very different events.

One describes Sept. 24, 1869, when two financiers, James Fisk and Jay Gould, attempted to corner the gold market. Their efforts caused prices to rise and stocks to plummet, leading many to their financial ruin.

The other describes the day after Thanksgiving, when millions of Americans across the nation head en masse to local stores to take advantage of large bargains in what is considered the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Black Friday, in this case, refers to the accounting practice of illustrating losses in red and profits in black.

According to ShopperTrak, a company that tracks retail statistics and trends, Nov. 24 was a black Friday indeed. Nationally, Americans spent an estimated $8.96 billion that day, which is 3.4 percent higher than last year's number. On average, around $360.15 was spent per person.

While the day after Thanksgiving has been known for huge crowds and frustrating traffic, on a local level, some noted that the crowds didn't seem as bad as they normally were.

SCOTT PILLING staff Lines of people filled the lobby of Ashley Furniture on Route 1 in North Brunswick during the Black Friday sale.

"Well, usually I come out early in the morning, but this year, well, we just got here now and I don't think it's as crowded here as it normally is. ... I came in and found a parking spot right away," said Patty Hayes, of North Brunswick, who was shopping at the Wal-Mart on Route 1.

Hayes said electronics were the gifts she was most on the lookout for, including an iPod for her daughter. According to the National Retail Federation, 12.5 percent of respondents aged 13-28 listed, specifically, an iPod as something they would like to receive this coming holiday season, part of an overall 46 percent of people who wanted electronic items in general.

Some shoppers had been out since early morning and noted that they saw large crowds and lines outside of stores waiting for goods during their trips to other stores.

"We went into East Brunswick to Best Buy and I was surprised to see the folks out on lines, and so when I came here, I thought it was going to be very crowded, but it's not," said Debbie Brooks of North Brunswick. "If you're looking for the great sales, you have to get up early and get into the stores early."

Meanwhile in cyberspace, shoppers spent more than $430 million on Friday, a reported 42 percent rise from the same day last year. This stands in stark contrast to what the National Retail Federation last year coined "Cyber-Monday," when on-line sales are meant to be significantly higher. While numbers for actual sales figures have not yet been reported as of press time, according to a survey by MasterCard, only 10 percent of Americans said they would shop on-line on Monday.