Published: November 27, 2009 10:05 pm      

BLACK FRIDAY: Area shoppers flock to big box and small local stores

Walmart and Bon-Ton were busy all day Friday. But so were some smaller local businesses.

Millions of people crowded stores all across the country Friday for the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season. But there also were plenty who visited local businesses, such as Noah’s Ark on Market Street. Owner Kathy O’Keefe said the visitors to her store were buying a lot.

“We had very high sales per person,” O’Keefe said. “Usually on the Friday after Thanksgiving, it’s not that busy downtown. This was a nice surprise.”

Some of the biggest movers were Melissa & Doug, a line of educational toys. Board games were tough to keep on the shelves, too, as they sold

pretty quickly, O’Keefe said. But what may have helped move toys recently is the fact Noah’s Ark hosts birthday parties. During one of their hardest years in 2009, Noah’s Ark would go a while in between parties being booked at the store.

“We had three birthday parties this week,” O’Keefe said. “Hopefully things are starting to turn around.”

Murphy Orchards of Burt was selling goods on Friday in three different locations. Owner Carol Murphy said besides selling at the farm, they had holiday stores set up at the Eastern Hills Mall in Williamsville and the Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga. Murphy Orchards was selling its jams and jellies made from the fruit grown on the farm.

“It used to be on the first of November we close down,” Murphy said. “October was our busiest month. Now December is our busiest with our jams and jellies.”

At the holiday stores, gift baskets and orders for apple gift boxes were also available. The gift baskets were especially popular for the holidays, Murphy said, mostly because of the hot pepper jelly that comes with them. The hot pepper jelly is used often for hors d’oeuvres.

While she was at the malls, Murphy said she saw a lot of shoppers out in the early morning.

“There was a boatload of people shopping at 5 a.m., I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

Heimiller Greenhouses in Newfane closed for the fall season on Halloween, but reopened Friday for the Christmas season. Ron Heimiller said Friday was a good start for the season, which will pick up even more as people begin to decorate for Christmas. Heimiller Greenhouses have a number of fresh, handmade Christmas wreaths, as well as poinsettias and special floral arrangements.

“So far, so good,” Heimiller said.

The National Retail Federation estimates that holiday sales this year will add up to about $437.6 billion, a decrease of about 1 percent from last year, when retailers saw a 3.4 percent drop. There was an increase in the number of people who said they would go shopping Friday or this weekend, about 134 million this year, up from about 128 million last year, according to the NRF.

Low prices on toys, apparel, electronics and appliances had many people heading to the stores to wait in line as early as 7 p.m. Thursday. The NRF said retailers in all sectors have reported strong crowds, with high definition televisions, laptops, winter coats and Zhu-Zhu pets among the most popular items. Zhu-Zhu pets are interactive toy hamsters.

“Retailers came out swinging for Black Friday, offering some of the holiday season’s lowest prices on electronics, appliances, apparel and toys,” said Tracy Mullin, NRF president and CEO. “Budget focused shoppers seemed to be pleasantly surprised with post-Thanksgiving deals, which many retailers will extend into Saturday and even Sunday.”

Retailers will have to wait and see what the rest of the holiday season brings, as Black Friday isn’t usually a good indicator of holiday sales according to experts.

Contrary to popular belief, Black Friday is not the day with the highest sales volume for retailers. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, the busiest shopping day of the year is usually the Saturday before Christmas. The Friday after Thanksgiving has been dubbed Black Friday because it’s the day when many retailers move up from the minus or red ink side of the ledger and into profitability or the black ink side.

Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.