No Stress for Most “Black Friday” Kmart Shoppers, But Latecomers Frustrated

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A steady flow of customers streamed in and out of the Kmart located at 156 Tom Hill Blvd. By midday Friday more than two thousand people had shopped at the store on Thanksgiving Day and on “Black Friday.” The store management says they are expecting even more people over the weekend.

One Kmart customer purchased $6,000 worth of gift cards for Christmas.

Most people said the long lines at the check-out registers were not a problem.

“I mean it’s a mad house everywhere you go , but these people here are working, they’re trying to get us in and out to enjoy the holidays,” says Brandon Lanzreau.

Thanksgiving Day 50 people beared the cold weather and waited in line for Kmart to open at 6 a.m. The store lured customers in at 5 a.m. with more “doorbuster” sales on Black Friday.

“We’ve been really running ever since we started opening the doors this morning,” said the Assistant Manager of the store Deborah Durham. It’s been non stop. We have a couple of new programs at Kmart this holiday. We have a leasing program, where you can take your purchase home immediately. We also have a shop on line program.”

Sam Spangler and his 10-year-old daughter Sarah were among the Black Friday shoppers looking for Christmas gifts. He said they had no complaints about the Black Friday crowd.

“We had no trouble getting into the store a lot of folks are here, but everybody seems to be in a really good mood,” said Spangler. “We actually came out last night to scout things out and we picked up a few items last night, but saved all the big purchases for today. It was quick and no problems at all.”

Durham says this year the store’s management worked to prevent a stampede by having more inventory than last year.

However, one Kmart shopper found out the hard way, X-BOX and play-stations and other electronic games were the first to leave the shelves.

“I’m trying to find the stuff that I’m looking for and can’t find it,” says Kealvin Foreman. “Even though it’s around one o’clock everything is pretty much gone.”

Durham says shoppers are also turning to Kmart.com to find items not in the store.