Black Friday traditions will likely have some changes this year
WRENTHAM - Once Thanksgiving is done, many turn their sights to Black Friday.
However, Black Friday may look a little different this year. All of the big box stores are closed for Thanksgiving, and the midnight rush to the mall is off. Many retailers open at 6 a.m. Friday.
Experts say the late start is good news for shoppers and stores.
"They don't have to overstaff their retail operations with hard-to-find labor at the right prices, and at the same time, shoppers are not necessarily waiting for this opportunity to go in and buy," said Dr. Venky Shankar, a marketing professor at Texas A&M University.
Instead, retailers have been pushing online holiday deals since October. Also, with inflation squeezing shoppers' budgets, sellers are offering pay-over-time options.
If the Wrentham Outlets are part of your holiday traditions, plan for some changes there, too. The stores will not open at midnight as they have in years past. Instead, doors open at 6 a.m.
There will also be some traffic changes. Wrentham Police will be on the streets trying to manage traffic. Green Street will be a one-way, and neighborhood roads will be accessible to residents only. However, Police are still expecting bumper-to-bumper traffic on Taunton, South and West streets.