Black Friday begins early in South Florida, with many shoppers hitting stores on Thanksgiving
MIAMI — Many stores and shoppers are gearing up for Black Friday across South Florida, with some already shopping at one store on Thanksgiving.
Whether it's a brand new TV or a new kitchen appliance, everyone at BrandsMart in Miami Gardens had one question: Is it on sale?
CBS News Miami spoke with shoppers who said they wanted to get the holiday shopping out the way already.
Shopper William Perez was one of those early shoppers, telling CBS News Miami that he arrived at 5 a.m. to be one of the first in line at BrandSmart USA with no real items on his list.
"I come to buy a couple of things for my granddaughter [and] grandson," Perez said.
Other shoppers knew exactly what they came for.
"I need to buy a blender," shopper Annmarie Destines told CBS News Miami.
Destines wanted the blender because it was around $50 And she got it.
"It's actually my first Black Friday. So it's pretty interesting to get some first-time experience," said shopper Neil Roker.
Roker is one of many people who walked into the Miami Gardens BrandsMart looking for price cuts.
"Definitely to capture some of the sales going on here. Definitely the electronics, televisions and whatnot," said Roker.
"[We've] seen so many people out here doing some shopping so we decided to do some shopping also," said shopper Jeremiah Reddick.
Reddick and his wife couldn't pass up the deals on what store associates say is a hot commodity this year, electric scooters.
He says while they stopped Black Friday shopping, things have changed.
"Back in the days when people use to get trampled and rush try to beat each other in the store. But it wasn't like that. This year it was great," said Reddick.
According to the National Retail Federation, 183.4 million people are expected to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals — an increase from 2023 with a total of 182 million people shopping last year.
Black Friday still dominates over shopping online with 72% expected to hit the stores.
"I think you get more of a feel for what you want. Looking at the stuff inside versus looking at stuff online or whatever," Roker said.
"You can actually see what you're getting," Reddick added.
Some of the store associates said a few items are trending this year: electric scooters, televisions, and home sound systems. They also said those items are flying off the shelves already.
