Shoppers, welcome to Black Friday

BREWER – Every Thanksgiving evening, while the rest of her family grazes on turkey and pie, Melanie Walden pores over dozens of retail circulars and coupons to decide whether to rise before dawn and head to the Bangor Mall for Black Friday savings.

If the deals look inviting, Walden usually hits the stores with her mother-in-law or her aunts, she said Tuesday.

“We usually get up about 4. We roll out of bed, hit Dunkin’ Donuts and then go. I’ve been in line at Wal-Mart in the dark,” Walden said.

Last year, 59 million shoppers hit malls and other stores on Black Friday, down from 60 million in 2005, according to the National Retail Federation, a Washington, D.C.-based retail trade association. The NRF predicts that up to 133 million U.S. residents will shop today, Saturday or Sunday.

One of the busiest shopping days of the year, Black Friday marks the start of the period in which retailers begin to see profits, or go “in the black.” Many stores open very early, some at 4 a.m., and offer deep discounts, often before noon, to entice shoppers.

Walden, who teaches at All Saints Catholic School in Bangor and has today off, said she skipped the shopping frenzy last year but hopes to find some deals on video games and other electronics for her three sons this Christmas. The crowds and heavy traffic in parking lots and on Stillwater Avenue and Hogan Road in Bangor don’t faze her, she said. Her only complaint is that some stores sell out of hot items quickly.

Stores in Bangor and Brewer have stocked shelves and called in extra employees in preparation for Black Friday shoppers. Last year, Best Buy in Bangor opened its doors at 5 a.m. to find a long line of shoppers who had spent the night in the parking lot. This year, the store will open at the same time and general manager Paul Gadoury expects the turnout will be even bigger.

“We’ll have all hands on deck. It’s going to be a lot of fun for everybody. It’s actually a day everyone enjoys working,” Gadoury said.

This year’s most popular items include flat-panel televisions, laptop computers, digital cameras and global positioning systems, Gadoury said. Last year, at least one Best Buy shopper reported saving more than $1,000 on his television, after special in-store discounts.

The Bangor Mall will unlock its doors at 5 a.m. with most stores open by 6 a.m. J.C. Penney will open earlier, at 4 a.m., and Sears and Macy’s will follow suit at 5 a.m. Dick’s Sporting Goods opens at 5:30 a.m.

Santa will make his first appearance at the mall today, and the Salvation Army will set up its Angel Tree, where shoppers can take the names of needy children to shop for.

Wal-Mart has sent out fliers to all U.S. residents advertising its Black Friday sales, and its supercenter in Brewer is likely to have a crowd waiting outside its doors when it opens at 5 a.m. Target, whose ads are ubiquitous in print and online this season, will welcome customers at its Bangor store at 6 a.m.

Toys “R” Us in Bangor also opens at 5 a.m. and anticipates a flurry around its display of the popular Tickle Me Elmo Special Edition doll.

For those unable to face the frenzy without a hearty dose of caffeine, Dunkin’ Donuts on Hogan Road will open at 4 a.m., Starbucks on Bangor Mall Boulevard will open at 4:30 a.m., and Tim Hortons in both Bangor and Brewer are open 24 hours.

A calmer shopping experience can be found in downtown Bangor, where Epic Sports will hold a major sale from 6 to 11 a.m.

The new women’s clothing shop Bella Luna at 48 Main St. will open at 8:30 a.m., just before The Grasshopper Shop, which opens at 9 a.m. There’s a movement downtown for stores to stay open until 8 p.m. on Fridays in December, according to Laurie Schweikert, who owns The Grasshopper Shop with her husband, Rick.

Those who travel a distance to shop in the Bangor area might be hard-pressed to find a hotel room this weekend. With the Canadian loonie slightly above par with the U.S. dollar, Canadian shoppers are crossing the border in droves and filling up most local hotels.

The Comfort Inn on Hogan Road in Bangor reports it is booked through Sunday night with several Canadian tour buses.

Cindy McLellan, manager of the Hampton Inn in Bangor, said the inn has had no vacancies for this weekend for months.

“At least 80 percent of [our customers] are Canadian. They are saying that our prices are tremendously lower than theirs,” McLellan said Monday.

Though shoppers still plan to spend more on gifts this year than last, they say their spending will be restrained, according to the NRF.

U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $817 on holiday-related shopping and an additional $107 on themselves, according to the NRF’s 2007 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. That brings total planned holiday-related spending to $924, an increase of 3.7 percent from 2006 and in line with NRF’s forecast of 4 percent.