KC metro shops speak on Black Friday business, deals

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — For many Americans, Black Friday is as much a holiday as Thanksgiving Day is.

Merchants across the Kansas City metro prepare all year for the start of holiday season shopping, as customers come calling in droves, as they did on Friday.

A story in Friday’s edition of the New York Times indicates a national downturn in Black Friday business at the retail level. That doesn’t appear to be the case in the Kansas City metro, as customers continue to hit the stores to begin their holiday season purchases.

Business really picks up on Black Friday and carries throughout the holiday season, according to Kenda Johnson, store manager at the Rally House location in Shawnee, Kansas. Johnson said the frantic morning has been busy and fun. Shoppers are using their Black Friday dollars to seek out Kansas City Chiefs items, as store staffers help customers in crowds.

“Our fourth quarter business is how we end such a great year. We’re preparing for this even in summertime, building our product base, and even getting the staff ready to go,” Johnson said.

The Legends Outlets in nearby Kansas City, Kansas see shoppers showing out too. Some stores have prices reduced to 50 percent off. 

“We are definitely in the retail Super Bowl,” Devin Little, who manages the Boss Outlet store, said.

Little said customers were waiting at the store’s front door when Black Friday business began. Little’s associates feel like this shopping season arrives with high expectations for shoppers to deliver.

“I feel like this year, it’s even more pressure because it’s our shortest time between Black Friday and Christmas this year, so there are less shopping days, so you’ve got to get in there quick. Stores are really moving through their merchandise fast,” Little said.

One store manager who spoke with FOX4 recommended that customers should consider coming later in the day. Evening crowds aren’t as demanding, and Black Friday traffic and the bargains, in many cases, will continue all weekend.