Tis the season for holiday shopping

Shoppers will flood everything from mom and pop stores to national chains this weekend for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.

About 182 million people plan to shop in stores, as well as online for Cyber Monday, from Thursday to Monday this year, according to an annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. That is 15.7 million more shoppers than last year and is the highest number of shoppers since NRF started collecting data for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2017.

“The Thanksgiving holiday weekend marks some of the busiest shopping days of the year, as consumers enjoy the tradition of shopping for the perfect gifts for friends and loved ones,” said Matthew Shay, NRF president and CEO, in a statement. “Retailers have been preparing for months for this occasion. They are stocked and ready to help customers find the gifts and other items they want at great prices during the entire holiday season.”

Big businesses such as Best Buy, Belk and Target started giving people a taste of Black Friday deals as early as October, and smaller local stores such as KB Home & Garden in Magnolia Plaza, Rustic Rose Home Accents & Gifts and Rustic Rose Fashion Boutique in Brownwood also got a head start. 

However, about 74% of holiday shoppers plan to go looking for a deal during the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend this year, which is higher than pre-pandemic numbers, according to the NRF. About 69% of shoppers did their holiday shopping Thanksgiving weekend in 2019.

Black Friday is expected to be the top day for shopping with about 130.7 million people, which is 3% more than 2022, according to the NRF. Cyber Monday takes the second spot with about 71.1 million people planning to shop on Nov. 27. 

Target, which has a location in Rolling Acres Plaza in Lady Lake, started offering Black Friday deals at the end of October. More deals are on the way this week including up to 50% off technology items, video games and toys and up to 40% off clothing and apparel, accessories and more, according to a press release. 

Both Target and Walmart will be closed on Thanksgiving. 

“Whether guests choose to shop the deals online or be the first in line when our stores open on Black Friday morning, we’ll be ready to help them find incredible offers,” said Christina Hennington, chief growth officer of Target, in a statement.

Offering Black Friday deals early has become a trend among big-box stores. 

Best Buy also offered sales in October. The electronics store chain, which has a location in Lady Lake, added more deals starting Friday and will continue leading up to the holiday.

Belk, which has a store in La Plaza Grande, has kicked off its Black Friday in store and online. 

Both stores will be closed on Thanksgiving. 

“Early shopping is a trend we have been tracking for several years, and this year, there is evidence the deals and promotions from October resonated with consumers,” said Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategy of Prosper Insights & Analytics, in a statement. “More than 40% of shoppers say they took advantage of retailers’ October sales to shop specifically for holiday gifts, decor and other seasonal items.”

Small businesses are gearing up for this weekend’s Small Business Saturday, which was founded by American Express in 2010 as a day for communities to celebrate and support small businesses.

Though smaller stores experience some customers on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday is the biggest day of the week. 

“It is one of our busiest and most fun days of the year,” said Rosalyn Housley, owner of Rustic Rose Home Accents & Gifts and Rustic Rose Fashion Boutique.

Housley plans to offer different deals on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. 

About 65.6 million consumers are expected to shop on Small Business Saturday this year, according to the NRF.

Housley thinks it is important to have a day dedicated to small businesses. 

“We feel like it brings notice to some stores that maybe would not be noticed before,” Housley said.

Housley said smaller operations tend to invest more in their local area through charity and hiring. 

“It’s the small businesses that support that community,” Housley said. 

Staff at Gifts & More at The Paper Store, which has locations in La Plaza Grande and Lake Sumter Landing, added extra workers several weeks ago to prepare for the holiday rush of customers.

Right after Halloween, customers already were coming in to get Christmas items. 

Staff expect the shopping holidays to be busy. 

“I expect them to go very well, thinking on last year,” said Sue Leech, department manager of the Gifts & More at The Paper Store in Lake Sumter Landing. “Last year, we did really well, so I expect to do just as well this year.”

Staff at KB Home & Garden also expect to be busy for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday and that buzz already has started.

“We’ve been really busy already selling Christmas (items),” said Tori Sanders, manager of the store. “They are already in the mood.”

The store, which is filled with Christmas trees, ornaments and more, will offer 20% off Christmas items for the Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend. 

“I expect it to be really busy,” Sanders said. “We have a lot of people coming in already so it’s going to be crazy.”

Senior writer Summer Jarro can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5404, or summer.jarro@thevillagesmedia.com.