Staff Report
The holiday season officially kicks off the day after Thanksgiving with Black Friday, followed by Cyber Monday.
The thrill of finding a special gift at a deep discount has become an annual event for a lot of shoppers. This year’s event is Friday, November 29. Shoppers can be found standing in store fronts in the wee hours waiting for them to open.
The term Cyber Monday was first used in 2005 by the National Retail Federation when they realized many people continued their holiday shopping online the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Businesses in Waycross are getting ready for Black Friday with added hours, extra staff and special holiday items.
Cori Woolsey of Coastal Candles said the store located at 211 Pendleton Street will be open from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. The store is beautifully decorated and filled with the scent of burning Christmas candles.
“Everything in the store will be 60 percent off with the exception of the memorial candles,” said Woolsey, a Personal Scent Stylist. “There will be hourly door prizes. We will open Thanksgiving evening beginning at 6 p.m. until foot traffic dies down.”
Rural King, located in the Mall of Waycross 2215 Memorial Drive, opened November 7. Assistant Store Manager Chris Huff said the newly opened store’s Black Friday hours are from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Regular business hours are 7 a.m.-9 p.m., daily.
“Rural King planned for this store to open in early November because of Christmas,” said Huff. “They geared everything from setting the store in September toward being ready for Christmas. We knew we would have all the kinks worked out by Black Friday, that was the plan.
“We set a corporate record with our opening. We absolutely exceeded all expectations and have done so continually since then. The response from Waycross and the surrounding communities has been outstanding. We continually hear, ‘Thank you for opening. This is the kind of store we needed.’” In the same shopping complex, Key Team Leader Candace Jowers of Dunham’s Sports says they will be open from 4 a.m. until 10 p.m., Friday.
Jowers, who has experienced several holiday seasons in retail, says they are ready. She encourages prospective shoppers to arrive early. “We didn’t bring in lot of extra stock, so it will be on a first come, first served basis,” Jowers said.
