Black Friday brings green

And so was the scene Friday at Oneonta's Southside Mall, where bargain hunters took advantage of the sales that mark the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

One of the busiest shopping days of the year, the day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday by retailers because of the big profits.

Ron and Sharon Bennett of Oneonta were taking a breather after about an hour of shopping inside the crowded mall. Even at 1 p.m., hours after early-bird shoppers first swept through, the Bennetts said they had a tough time finding a parking spot.

"We're over by Drogen's, at the very end of the parking lot," said Sharon Bennett. "It's packed."

As a rule, the Bennetts said, their Christmas shopping doesn't get done until the last minute. But their grandchildren, they noted, have shopping lists that require some extra footwork.

"The older the kids get, the more expensive it gets," Sharon Bennett said of the children, who range in age from 2 to 8. "Everything they want, of course, costs between $30 and $40.

Lori Crane of Monticello was scanning the toy aisles at Kmart for gifts. Her 7-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, was searching for dolls with names such as Bratz and Fashion Polly.

Although Crane said a flat economy has not really affected her Christmas shopping routine, she noted that gifts this year for her kids are going to be a little more substantial.

"I'm sick of 'the under the bed, forget about it in a week' thing," she said. "We're trying to be more meaningful this year."

Early-bird shoppers also flocked Friday to downtown Oneonta's Main Street retailers.

"It's been busy today," said Sport Tech co-owner Nancy Scanlon. "It's a little surprising because of the weather."

Friday's snowy weather, however, was just the thing Scanlon said will draw people to the store's big inventory of cold-weather gear, such as skis, jackets and snowboards.

"It's good for us," she said.

Browsing the merchandise at Sport Tech, Janine Sturniolo of Jefferson said she is the last-minute shopping type.

"I have to be, I can't keep the presents around that long," she said. "If I buy one, I want to give it to the person early because I can't wait."

Ed Hofbauer, owner of Alpine Ski Hut, said he doesn't expect people to really begin shopping until the last couple of weeks before Christmas.

In fact, the weekend after Thanksgiving is no longer the busiest period of the season, retail analysts say. Last year, the busiest period was the last week before Christmas.

While some retailers are using new gimmicks to get shoppers into stores, Hofbauer said Alpine Ski Hut relies on more than three decades of being a downtown mainstay to attract customers.

The sporting goods store, he said, will be open Sundays for the next few weeks to accommodate Christmas shoppers.

At the Artisans' Guild, also on Main Street, shoppers browsed the large array of artwork for possible Christmas gifts.

"People have been coming in pretty steadily," said artist and guild volunteer Margaret LaValle.

Neil Carbone, another guild volunteer, said the busy holiday season always calls for more people to help out at the guild.

Big-ticket items, such as computers, are also selling well this season, said Ronald Ranc II, a partner in Information Systems Division Inc. on Chestnut Street.

"We have seen an increase in retail computer sales for the holiday season," Ranc said. "It actually started about a week ago, I'm assuming because Thanksgiving is kind of late this year, so people didn't wait for Black Friday to start their Christmas shopping."

Ranc said his business has not experienced the technology slump that most of the nation has experienced.

"We're actually looking at an increase in computer sales over last year," he said, noting that many people who stocked up on computers in anticipation of Y2K need new ones to replace the outdated technology.