Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL HomeShoppers take advantage of Thanksgiving deals

Shoppers take advantage of Thanksgiving deals

By Tim Sakahara - bio | email

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Forget the turkey and football, some shoppers were out hunting for bargains on Thanksgiving Day as stores opened up hoping to get a jump on the competition in this down economy.

Most shoppers are strategic going through all the ads and mapping out their stores. This year people didn't have to wait until Black Friday. Now they can spend their green on Gray Thursday.

Kmart shoppers got a jump on the pack.

"This (car) is $19.99 here, but tomorrow it goes on sale at Wal-Mart for $15 but you might get trampled," said Rhonda Gollero, of Salt Lake, who preferred the relaxed pace of shopping today and says it worth it to pay a little more to get exactly what you want. "(Tomorrow) you might not have the color that you want and this is nice."

"It's great because Friday is too busy to shop. Too many people. Well we'll do that tomorrow too but I got to get some done today," said Noreen Kerr, of Manoa.

"It not only gives us an edge on the business sense but also to the community that are looking for things when they need it yet everywhere else is closed," said Darcy Taisacan, Kmart Manager.

Like Black Friday, Thanksgiving Thursday, or Gray Thursday, also offers its door buster deals. At Kmart one of the items is pillows for just $2.99 and if you think about it, that's brilliant because what's the first thing you do after eating too much turkey? Take a nap.

"Pillows! That's the amazing turnaround. Pillows of all things, we placed that huge display and then the pillows just took off," said Taisacan.

Over at Ala Moana Shopping Center it was empty although some stores like Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic were open making it easy to spot good deals.

"I think it's a good idea because not a lot of people know about it. Less people and more parking spots," said Aaron McCandless, of Waikiki.

If more stores catch on next year it could be start a new shopping tradition and maybe even avoid those shopping stampedes.

"I just want to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving and a safe holiday. Safe shopping definitely, nobody gets trampled this year I hope," said Kerr with a smile.

Then again, if not enough people made it worth the stores efforts, they may also decide to stay closed next Thanksgiving. A Banana Republic employee said it was slow almost all day.

Copyright 2009 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.