Crowds are smaller but COVID-19 pandemic doesn't deter Black Friday shoppers in Delaware

A recent surge in COVID-19 cases did not deter Delaware shoppers from getting deals in person early Friday morning.

Crowds were smaller than during the typical holiday shopping season, but Delaware malls and stores still showed hallmark signs of Black Friday, such as shoppers lined up for store openings and out-of-state license plates dotting the parking lots. 

Standing apart from each other, dozens waited outside Target at the Christiana Mall in time for its 7 a.m. opening.

The line of shoppers waiting for the 7 a.m. opening of Target at the Christiana Mall stretches to the rear of the store on Black Friday, Nov. 27, 2020.

Just 10 minutes later, they were moving swiftly throughout the big-box store, with a small crowd gathering by the electronics section as employees helped customers from behind plexiglass. 

The mostly young shoppers said they weren't concerned about the spread of the virus, noting everyone was wearing masks. Capacity restrictions caused stores such as Sephora and Victoria's Secret to set up lines out the door of a dozen at most. 

Despite Gov. John Carney's plea for neighboring states' residents not to come to Delaware this week amid rising COVID-19 cases, malls up and down the state still saw their usual visitors looking for tax-free shopping.

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In Camden, a wraparound line steadily developed around GameStop as about 50 customers camped out at 6 a.m., an hour before opening, in the hopes of securing the new PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series 1.

“Y’all all right out here? It’s kind of cold,” an employee said with a little chuckle, as she made her way from the parking lot to the front door.

Brothers Travis Martin, 23, of New York, and Tim Martin, 30 (right), who's originally from New York and has been stationed at Dover Air Force Base for nearly 10 years, are the first two customers camped out at GameStop in Camden on Friday morning around 5:40 a.m. on a quest to purchase the Playstation 5. The campers had been waiting since Wednesday.

“We’re blessed and highly favored,” responded Travis Martin, who was the first in line outside of the shop.

Martin, 23, and his older brother, 30-year-old Tim Martin, had been camping out in folding chairs since Wednesday, each on a quest to buy the coveted PS5. Tim Martin said they’re originally from New York, but nearly 10 years ago, he was stationed at Dover Air Force Base.

Travis Martin recently came down from New York to visit Tim, and the pair decided to camp out at the GameStop in Camden, believing it would be safer than doing so back in New York, Tim Martin said. They skipped Thanksgiving to camp out for the console and took turns saving their spot in line.

More than 50 people waited outside of GameStop in Camden on Friday around 6:10 a.m., many of whom came to buy a Playstation 5 or Xbox Series 1, which are hard to find.

“We knew we had to be out here a couple days early," Tim said. "We got an inside [tip] there was going to be about two consoles per GameStop. We wanted to make sure we were here in enough time to secure those two game systems."

Leaving the Christiana Mall at about 8 a.m. were 21-year-old Michael McCord and two friends, who were frustrated in their own quest to buy the PS5.

They had come home from other states to North East, Maryland, for Thanksgiving and had already tried to find the gaming console that morning at a GameStop and Walmart in North East. They had no luck at the Christiana Mall's GameStop, either.

"We came up here because it was so close," McCord said, adding that he did not find the mall crowded.

When asked whether he was concerned about COVID-19 cases, he said he was "young enough" not to be worried.

Waiting in line to enter Victoria's Secret PINK with her friends, 18-year-old Brooklyn Cole of Newark said it was her first time Black Friday shopping. She had been up since 5 a.m. to beat crowds.

Traffic was picking up shortly after 10 a.m. at the Christiana Mall on Black Friday. Some stores had lines outside to comply with COVID-19-related capacity restrictions.

"I definitely think it will be less crowded" because of the pandemic, she said.

Retail stores have spent the past eight months adapting to the pandemic with online sales, curbside pickup and delivery. In Delaware, they were closed during the first wave of emergency orders but allowed to reopen in June with 60% capacity. 

Since then, they've been relatively untouched by restrictions. When the state cracked down on restaurants and private gatherings last week, it didn't issue any new restrictions for stores.

All the stores faced their biggest test Friday of whether their adaptations can sustain business during the holiday season, as coronavirus cases climb nationwide.

Some businesses that already had strong online operations have been able to replace declining foot traffic, but others – including traditional department stores and mall-based retailers – are pivoting less successfully, Delaware Online/The News Journal has reported.

Shoppers wait for the 7 a.m. opening of Target at the Christiana Mall on Black Friday, Nov. 27, 2020.

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For some who went out, the pandemic made for an easier Black Friday. In the past, Barbara Durham, 46, of Greenwood said she's waited in wraparound lines at the Dover Target. There were no lines Friday morning at the store, whose parking lot was about half full at 7:15 a.m.

Durham said she gets "90%" of her Christmas shopping done on Black Friday.

"There were times I used to pull in here at 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning and I had to park at Safeway because this parking lot was full," she said.

Barbara Durham, of Greenwood, gets to Target in Dover around 7:20 a.m. for Black Friday shopping, which didn't have any lines outside of the store and had plenty of parking. Durham is joined with her daughter, Mia Vera, and her boyfriend, Mike Mahoney, also of Greenwood.

At the Tanger Outlets Bayside in Rehoboth Beach, the parking lot was full at 9 a.m.

Christmas music played, car alarms chirped and sea gulls squawked overhead. 

Some stores had lines outside due to capacity restrictions. Those stores, such as Nike, Old Navy and Under Armour, instructed people in line to socially distance. Compliance was fair-to-middling. 

The outlets didn’t open on Thanksgiving this year, as they have in the past, and there were no deal-seekers shopping through the night.  

About 30 shoppers waited to enter Under Armour, at Tanger Outlets Bayside in Rehoboth Beach, around 9:30 a.m. on Black Friday.

This year, there was no mad rush when doors opened at 6 a.m. on Black Friday either. Things started picking up around 7 a.m., according to Sherry’s Crabcakes owner Martin Szwhanoch, whose food trailer is set up in front of Old Navy.  

Szwhanoch said business this year didn't compare to last year's. 

In 2019, he opened at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving and didn’t close until 8 p.m. Black Friday. Though he started selling coffee and apple cider at 6 a.m. this year, he had only about a dozen customers by 9 a.m. 

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Luchinia Veney, a health care worker, got up at 4:15 a.m. to drive to the outlets from Parksley, Virginia. 

She arrived in Rehoboth around 6:30 a.m. and was surprised to see very few cars in the parking lot. Her first stops were Michael Kors and Tommy Hilfiger.  

“I am concerned about the virus,” she said. “But I know to socially distance, be safe and keep your mask on.” 

Since COVID-19 restrictions began, there’s been a line outside Tanger Outlets Bayside’s Nike store during open hours. It was slightly longer than usual around 9:30 a.m. on Black Friday.

Patricia Harley was in town from New York, joining family for Thanksgiving dinner. She arrived at the outlets around 8 a.m. to find the parking lot full. An hour or so later, her prize purchase was an Instant Pot she saved $50 on. 

She said emphatically that she is not concerned about COVID-19.  

“We are safe distancing; we’re wearing our masks. We’re very relaxed,” she said. “Everyone else is doing the same.” 

Contact Jeanne Kuang at jkuang@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2476.