May 23, 2012
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Some East Tennessee shoppers got their turkey, then enjoyed a side of deals on Thursday.
Several Knoxville retailers held special Thanksgiving sales on a day they’ve traditionally closed their doors.
“It’s powerhouse shopping,” said Jodi Hidalgo, a Thanksgiving Day shopper who hit up the special sales. "This has been a treat for me, because usually on Black Friday you fight people to get stuff. We haven't had to do that today."
The Knoxville resident’s busy afternoon of shopping showed. When all was said and done, one of her six receipts was actually taller than she is.
“I did great,” Hidalgo said after finishing up at Old Navy’s Gobblepalooza Sale. “Some of the shirts I got here were $1.25 each. Very happy Thanksgiving!"
She wasn’t the only one on a holiday shopping spree. Monica Sellars followed up her turkey feast with a extra helping of savings.
"I have mixed feeling,” she said about the new trend of shopping on the last Thursday of November. “It's ok, I wouldn't want to see all the stores open because it's a holiday and Thanksgiving, but it was nice for one or two stores to be open and give us something to do."
Others area retailers such as Walmart and Kmart stayed open for holiday shoppers, and experienced packed parking lots all afternoon.
Melanie Phillips also joined in the extravaganza, walking into the Kmart only about 20 minutes after finishing her supper.
"Once we're done with dinner, there's really nothing to do, so we came out and got a head start,” she said, "we got a half-price jacket, you can't beat that."
Phillips took the night off from shopping, but intended to fuel up on some of the caffeine she’d just purchase in order to return for some early morning Black Friday shopping .
"That'll be breakfast in the morning,” she said, “not really that nutritious though, it’s that or coffee."
Volunteer TV News returned to the shopping beat at midnight, when Toys-R-Us opened its doors to Black Friday shopping. People had started lining up at the West Knoxville toy store six hours earlier, with some shoppers visiting from as far away as Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The Tanger Outlets in Sevierville as well as more than a dozen West Town Mall stores opened at midnight too, including American Eagle, Gap and the Disney Store.
You can find a full list of Black Friday events on the front page of VolunteerTV.com
