What will Black Friday in Fresno look like? Here’s what stores are doing during COVID-19
Say the words “Black Friday” and most people picture a crowd of people pouring through retailers’ doors and scrambling for deals.
It’s an image that doesn’t fit 2020, does it?
With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to spread and cases spiking in Fresno County, Black Friday and holiday shopping are going to look different this year.
The county is in the purple tier of coronavirus business restrictions, which means retailers can only be open at 25% capacity. And with a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., many stores are not staying open all night like in years past, or even past 10 p.m.
Big retailers are deliberately downplaying Black Friday this year, avoiding use of the word “doorbuster,” and shifting many of their deals online.
Will there be crowds?
“No, Black Friday I don’t think is going to be at all what it was in the past,” said Jeff Green, a retail consultant with Phoenix-based Hoffman Strategy Group.
Fashion Fair/River Park opening times
Most big-box stores are staying closed on Thanksgiving Day – another change from years past.
They will open early Friday, however.
Fashion Fair mall will open at 6 a.m. Friday, with Macy’s and JCPenney opening at 5 a.m.
Stores at River Park open at a variety of times, like Best Buy at 5 a.m., and H&M and Victoria’s Secret at 6 a.m. Target opens at 7 a.m.
Fig Garden Village and Sierra Vista Mall open at 7 a.m.
Just how many shoppers will show up isn’t clear.
Nationwide, 54% of people plan to shop less in stores this year compared to previous years, according to a survey by SecurityNerd.com.
But another big reason people may stay home has nothing to do with coronavirus. Black Friday crowds have been shrinking for years, noted Green.
“It’s been shifting for a while as Black Friday sales come earlier in November,” he said. “Even in the last several years, you haven’t seen the Black Friday rush that you saw years before.”
More people are shopping online. Deals are offered earlier and earlier. And with stores opening at different times in years past, crowds have thinned out in Fresno.
This year, masks are required inside Fresno businesses.
At River Park, expect to see hand washing stations and more workers cleaning outdoor tables and surfaces. People in lines will be spaced 6 feet apart.
Fashion Fair plans to block off about 20% of its parking when the mall approaches capacity.
You won’t necessarily see workers counting people at the doors, but the mall has high-tech sensors that count people going into and out of the building. When it gets close to capacity, they’ll start managing how many people go in.
Expect lines inside the mall at individual stores too. In recent weeks, some have had workers out front managing lines and reminding people to wear masks.
Victoria’s Secret – one of the most popular Black Friday destinations at the mall – has already had lines in the middle of the mall in the weeks before Black Friday because the store reached capacity. Customers can check the Victoria’s Secret app to check on wait times.
Fashion Fair has also removed much of its seating, increased cleaning practices and has an HVAC system with hospital-grade filtration.
Black Friday 2020: Safety and sales
If you do go out shopping, bring your patience.
“Be prepared to wait and be prepared to to wait outside,” said Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst with DealNews.com, a shopping comparison website that has tracked Black Friday deals for years.
You also may not find some of the great deals of years past in stores. Big retailers have moved some of them online to avoid being besieged by crowds, she said.
Walmart, for example, is offering deals on books, movies and music in stores, but it’s only offering some of its big savings on TVs and laptops online, she noted.
Best Buy, where shoppers usually line up a day beforehand, is only selling certain highly anticipated gaming consoles on its website, not in stores, to avoid lines.
“I think this year more than ever, there’s not really any reason to shop in person,” Ramhold said. “A lot of retailers have made a big push to put deals online, and a lot of retailers have made some of the best deals online only.”
She also recommends shoppers jump on those deals because they won’t last.
How to avoid crowds
If crowds aren’t your thing, skip Black Friday shopping in person entirely and go online. Curbside pick up and in-store pick are offered at many big stores.
If you still need to shop in person during the holiday season, pick a slow time, Green said.
Fashion Fair’s busiest times are between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, noted Brian Malony, senior manager, marketing. Many mall stores also offer curbside pickup.
“If you’re worried about crowds … usually the slowest part of the shopping season is the second week of December,” he said. “That would probably be the optimal time to shop when it would be less crowded.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
