Shoppers skip turkey for a shot at Thanksgiving Day savings

Shoppers skip turkey for a shot at Thanksgiving Day savings

(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Lines started forming long before the turkey timers popped, and some eager shoppers even postponed their traditional family Thanksgiving dinner until after dark so they could get the best deals.

"It's nice they were willing to wait," said Ryan Vance, of Centerville, who was one of the first in line at the Centerville Target on Thursday afternoon. He was hoping to pick up some electronic tablets at Black Friday prices.

It was Vance's first time joining in the retail mayhem, but "the deals are too good to pass up," he said.

"I do it for fun," said Anthony Pham, of Woods Cross, who stands in line for Black Friday deals every year. His father was down the street at Staples, awaiting its opening for similar deals on various electronics.

"We're pretty tech-savvy people. One room in our house has 13 outlets," Pham said.

Although the crowds were small early in the day Thursday — with fewer than two dozen in line at Kmart in Holladay when it opened at 6 a.m. — many more turned out for later store openings, and the Christmas shopping seemed to be in full swing.

Despite variousonline and other attempts to boycott what some call "Gray Thursday," a crowd of about 150 people gathered outside the Brickyard Kohl's before its 6 p.m. opening, which expanded to an estimated 200 to 250 people flowing into the store for a solid five minutes.

Rosemary Himes, of Texas, and her family were at the head of the group.

Their 4:45 p.m. arrival secured them the coveted spot — "I've never been in the front of the line before," she gushed — and a voucher for a limited amount of TVs inside.

"Just block through," was the veteran shopper's strategy.

After Kohl's, the family planned to head to Target, "go for a while longer, go home and take a nap and then go again. Probably," she said laughing.

Big sellers this year at Kohl's were TVs, as vouchers for the devices were exhausted before the store opened; the Nintendo DS, which sold out within 20 minutes; and the Xbox One. Seven minutes after the doors first parted, people were already leaving with their purchases.


We get 10 times the price (from the auction). So that's why we come today is so that we get these really great deals. And we can get it all done in one night (and) spend all the money, and it goes for such a great cause. That's the point of the whole thing.

–Jolene Dew


The chance to do a little good attracted one group to Kohl's on Thursday night. Jolene Dew continued a 25-year service tradition started by her father who annually donates $5,000 toward purchasing items for the Boy Scouts of America's Great Salt Lake Council holiday auction.

Dew and seven other family members were among six teams from their family at major stores Thursday. Their arms and carts were loaded with games, shoes, blenders and "everything under about $19. … If we buy things for $19, it goes that much farther," she said.

"We get 10 times the price (from the auction,)" Dew added, beaming. "So that's why we come today is so that we get these really great deals. And we can get it all done in one night (and) spend all the money, and it goes for such a great cause. That's the point of the whole thing."

The most recent Boy Scout auction took place one week earlier, attracting about 800 people and raising roughly $100,000 for local Scouts. Dew will store the items they purchased Thursday in her basement until next year.

"It's all for charity, I mean, for the Boy Scouts, who we believe in," she said.

Not all stores are willing to open on Thanksgiving, as many want to give their employees the day off. Some states and shopping centers banned businesses from opening on the holiday, but it didn't stop shoppers from sneaking online to fulfill wish lists.

At least one employee at Kmart said, anonymously, that she didn't think it was worthwhile to be at work, even with the time-and-a-half pay she was getting.

A handful of people were sent by loved ones still cooking at home to the relatively few stores that did open their doors Thanksgiving Day to pick up last-minute or forgotten items.

Mondo Mayo, of Holladay, was at Kmart for soda and tinfoil serving dishes and had to rush home to finish cooking all the trimmings for a late dinner.

"The turkey is in the oven," he said.

The weather cooperated nicely for most folks who found themselves waiting outside cold, concrete big-box stores, as temperatures reached into the high 50s.

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