Some shoppers still hit Denver-area stores, shopping centers for COVID Black Friday specials

COVID-19 weakened Black Friday — but it couldn’t kill it.
 
Carrying on a Thanksgiving weekend tradition, many Denver stores were busy Friday as shoppers looked to hit the jackpot on holiday shopping deals.

At Target, Walmart and BestBuy the lines weren’t as long as in years past, when some lines began on Thanksgiving day.  And many “unbeatable deals”  were offered online as well as in stores.

But it was like old times at GameStop, which had a limited supply of two of this year’s hottest items — Xbox Series X and PlayStation5. 

Jay Davis, the store manager of the GameStop in Centennial on Arapahoe Road, said around 60 people began lining up at 7 a.m. Thursday to buy one of the newest video game consoles. 

“We had a couple of people camp out overnight just to get their hands on one of the new systems, and we only had a handful of them (on hand),” Davis said. 

Most stores across the metro area did not experience the typical Black Friday frenzy, but officials said they still expect it to be the busiest day of the year.

“Black Friday traditionally is a great shopping day for us, but it has been a robust day,” said Jeramy Burkinshaw, the general manager of Cherry Creek Shopping Center. 

Some changes at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center and Park Meadows Mall made it apparent to shoppers that this was not a usual year.

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Hand sanitizer stations were around nearly every corner, shoppers and workers wore masks, gloves and even face shields. Only a few big name stores like Apple, Lululemon and the LEGO Store had consistently long lines.

To families and individuals who have turned Black Friday shopping into a yearly tradition, the experience this year was odd.

“This year is way different than years past and even though we’ve all been wearing masks for so long now, it’s still weird seeing everyone doing it on Black Friday,” said Denver resident Lucky Vang.

Despite all of the changes made to assure the safety of mall employees and shoppers, some people, including Denver resident Aaliyah Shambe, were still a little nervous. 

“My family and I go Black Friday shopping every year, and it’s just been kind of weird walking around by so many people for the first time in months,” she said. 

“I feel safe because everyone’s wearing a mask and socially distancing the best that they can, but it’s just strange being around so many people again.”

In an attempt to include anyone who wants to shop many centers including Cherry Creek Shopping Center have a curb-side pickup option.

And although this year’s Black Friday has been drastically different, Burkinshaw said businesses expect the crowds to continue to come for days to come. 

“We expect (the crowd) to continue throughout the weekend,” Burkinshaw said. 

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