More bargain hunters, shopaholics and insomniacs indulged in the post-Thanksgiving consumption ritual known as Black Friday this year than in 2003.
That, at least, was according to the snow globe indicator at Glendale Galleria. In little more than an hour, the 3,800 globes the JCPenney store had stocked as freebies for early risers were gone. "Last year, it took three hours to give them away," store manager David Small said.
Hundreds of people were queued up when the main doors rolled open at 5:30 a.m. and clerk Marlene Mena handed over the first Mickey Mouse globe.
"It's insane," she said. "I can't believe people get up so early."
Some people never went to bed; Wendy Tan was sitting outside Best Buy in West Hollywood at midnight. The 19-year-old UCLA freshman stayed there for six hours to snag a Toshiba laptop computer for $499.99 -- reduced from $899.99 -- passing the time with the help of her English textbook.
Tan lost sleep and faced the multitudes to save money. Lisa Soria did it because it was fun.
"I like to see people fighting for a parking space or that last shirt," the 26-year-old said, referring to a tussle at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa that she witnessed. "It just gets you in that Christmas mood."
The day after Thanksgiving marks the traditional commencement of a shopping season that actually starts before Halloween. It's referred to as Black Friday because it used to be the day of the year that merchants began shifting from being in the red to being in the black.
They act as though it's as crucial a day as ever, opening hours earlier than usual, throwing sales and handing out gifts.
"Retailers want to get a lot of buzz out there about themselves on Black Friday," said Ellen Tolley, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation.
At South Coast Plaza, the David Yurman jewelry store uncorked champagne for patrons. At Beverly Center in Los Angeles, a lounge area was equipped with free coffee, pastries, fruit and Hunky Santa, a young man in a red tank top. "I've never seen a Santa Claus with muscles," said 18-year-old Kelly Burgos, a psychology major at Los Angeles Community College. "That's different."
Sales figures weren't released Friday, so there was only anecdotal evidence to indicate whether shoppers outdid themselves. The retail federation predicted that as many as 130 million people would be in stores Friday through Sunday, spending some of the $219.9 billion the federation has estimated would be forked over this holiday season. That would be up 4.5% from 2003.
