With turkey day dinner not even digested, shoppers were ready to shop their wallet out late Thanksgiving evening and early Black Friday morning. As shoppers piled through the doors of retail centers all across the Greater Cleveland area, retail workers and managers were prepared.
“We had a very good day,” said Rob Clarke, General Manager at Beachwood Place. “I would say [this year’s turnout] was similar if not a little bit ahead [of previous years].”
While Beachwood Place officially opened for business at 8:00 a.m. on Black Friday, Clarke said approximately twelve stores at the mall opened their doors between midnight and 6:00 a.m.
When asked if the mall would consider opening its doors earlier than 8:00 a.m. to follow the trend set forth by other retail centers and stores around the country, Clarke said it wasn’t likely. He explained that the average customer at Beachwood Place is not one that would want to shop at midnight on Black Friday.
According to Clarke, the mall’s parking lots were “very accessible” to shoppers on Black Friday, and the mall management was prepared. “We always staff according to the anticipation of your customer, regardless if it’s Black Friday, or the day after Christmas, or the middle of January. We staff accordingly whether it’s security, housekeeping, maintenance or guest services,” said Clarke.
Clarke said the mall management will primarily dedicate their efforts to promote Beachwood Place the remainder of the holiday season via social media.
In Cleveland’s west side suburbs, malls were just as packed, if not more.
“We had a larger crowd [between midnight and 5:00 a.m.] than we had last year, and more of our stores opened at midnight as well,” said Annie Dorsey, Marketing Director at Westfield Great Northern in North Olmsted. Dorsey said that approximately 70 stores in the mall opened at midnight this year, which is twenty stores more than 2011. She added that over 10,500 people visited the mall between midnight and 5:00 a.m. on Black Friday .
As for special incentives to get shoppers out to Westfield Great Northern, Dorsey said that there was no need for the mall itself to offer any. “We did not do any special incentives this year because the retailers did a good enough job on their own,” she explains.
Dorsey said that Black Friday shoppers were particularly interested in the mall’s Disney Store, evidenced by the fact that it had one of the longest lines of any store in the mall.
Dorsey explained that it would benefit holiday shoppers to visit Westfield Great Northern, citing it as “the best indoor [shopping] center on the west side… it’s a good place to get things done.”
“We’re estimating we’re up 15 to 20% over last year [in crowd turnout],” said Andy Selesnik, Marketing Director at SouthPark Mall in Strongsville. “We noticed our biggest traffic increase was from midnight to 3:00 in the morning,” Selesnik said. SouthPark Mall was open from midnight to 10:00 p.m. on Black Friday.
Selesnik said that the mall was prepared for crowds. “We plan for that stuff. When we know we’re going to have higher crowds, we obviously increase our levels [of security].”
According to Selesnik, many stores at SouthPark Mall were popular with shoppers on Black Friday, including Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bath & Body Works, and Forever 21. According to Selesnik, “a majority of the stores are very happy with the way the weekend went.”
For the remainder of the holiday season, SouthPark will promote their extended hours. Selesnik added that the mall will continue to be marketed as the largest “family” shopping center in Northeast Ohio. “We have what we think is the best mix of stores.”
However, malls weren’t the only hotspot for Black Friday shoppers.
“We had a great turnout this year,” said Melissa Ruh, Store Team Leader at the Target store at University Square in University Heights. Although this had been Ruh’s first Black Friday working at this particular Target store, she had been told by others that the crowd was almost double from what it had been in previous years.
Target opened at 9:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving and remained open until 11:00 p.m. on Black Friday. “Last year we opened at midnight [on Black Friday]… what we’ve found is that people keep coming [to earlier openings].”
Though the opening time of Target on Black Friday seems to be getting earlier each year, Ruh said that the items shoppers are interested in haven’t changed. “[What was popular this year is] what’s popular every year… it’s the cameras, it’s the TVs, it’s the appliances.”
Overall, Clarke said sales at Beachwood Place stores were up and both shoppers and merchants were satisfied. “All the department stores did well, the [stores inside the mall] did well… I think at the end of the day that’s what your measuring stick is. That’s what’s important.”
