Call it Black Friday creep.
Amid sales that last more than a week, the rise of online shopping and even some local boycotts, the scene at at least one Virginia Beach shopping outlet was more subdued than past years.
Around two dozen shopping faithful lined up outside the Virginia Beach Best Buy on Independence Boulevard around 5 minutes before opening at 6 a.m. Friday.
It was a far cry from the camping tents deal seekers erected and slept in a day before Thanksgiving in 2013.
This year, Chesapeake resident Isaiah Wilson was first in line, and said he was just back from a short military tour in South Korea.
He said he was waiting on an online pickup order: a new television, “If I can fit it in my car,” he said with a laugh.
Raymond Rice, second in line, was waiting to grab a video game console. Online shopping was a no-go for him.
“I don’t have the patience to wait for it to get here,” he said.
Rice is in the minority, according to a pre-holiday survey conducted by the National Retail Federation. Around 55% of shoppers plan to purchase gifts online this holiday season.
Black Friday sales have changed in the last several years. In 2013, Best Buy opened at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Now, the retailer’s sale period extends from Nov. 20 to Saturday, with additional sales on Sunday and Cyber Monday. Stores were closed on Thanksgiving. (Stephen M. Katz / The Virginian-Pilot)
The trade group predicts holiday shopping sales will climb above $1 trillion nationally this year, with an increase of anywhere between 3.7%-4.2% compared to 2024.
“American consumers may be cautious in sentiment, yet remain fundamentally strong and continue to drive U.S. economic activity,” National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a news release.
The sales themselves have transformed since 2013. Then, Best Buy opened at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, offering in-store doorbusters — limited quantity items — like $100 off an iPad and $100 off a Kindle Fire tablet. Now, Best Buy’s sale period extends all the way from Nov. 20 to Saturday, with additional sales on Sunday and Cyber Monday. Stores were closed on Thanksgiving.
And doorbusters have moved online, with Best Buy offering the sales on their website.
Some local advocacy groups have used the shopping season to protest companies they say have implemented policies to curry favor with President Trump’s administration. Groups that helped organized Hampton Roads events during the No Kings mass protests on Oct. 18 and June 14, like COVA Coalition and Williamsburg JCC Indivisible, held events Wednesday and Friday.
The groups are also asking shoppers to not spend money with three companies from Thursday-Monday: Target, for halting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; Home Depot, for what they say are actions allowing immigration enforcement agencies to conduct raids on its properties; and Amazon, for owner Jeff Bezos donating $1 million to Trump.
Heather Meaney-Allen, founding member of Williamsburg JCC Indivisible, said she was supporting the boycott to show companies she didn’t support the Trump administration’s raids on immigrants.
“The majority of them are not offenders in any way,” Meaney-Allen said. “They’re not drug lords. They’re not criminals. They’re the ones picking our crops and feeding us.”
Wilson said he had heard of the boycott but did not plan to participate. At 6 a.m., the Best Buy doors opened and the shoppers quickly filed inside.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
Around two dozen customers lined up outside Best Buy around 5 minutes before opening at 6 a.m. Friday. It was a far cry from the camping tents deal seekers erected and slept in a day before Thanksgiving in 2013. (Stephen M. Katz / The Virginian-Pilot)
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