LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Stores and retailers are preparing for a busy weekend with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. That includes shopping centers like the Fayette Mall in Lexington.
To be more precise, the National Retail Federation expects about 130 million people to go shopping this Friday.
“It's an extension of people's Thanksgiving holiday,” said Stacey Keating, spokesperson for the Fayette Mall. “It's a tradition for many people.”
In recent years, Black Friday sales have lasted more than just one day.
“There's a lot of retailers that have been promoting early Black Friday savings,” Keating said. “I think one of the things that we're generally seeing, with everything that’s been going on in the broader economy, consumers have been looking to spread their holiday shopping out.”
More people are shopping before Black Friday, but there has also been a blend of online and physical shopping on Cyber Monday.
“We did see a big increase in traffic last year on Cyber Monday,” shared Keating. “I think a lot of that is driven by buy online and pick up in store, which retailers have just gotten more sophisticated at doing.”
Both shopping and savings are spread out over a longer period of time. Still, Keating said it doesn’t cut down on the traffic, but it does help limit the trouble.
“It's not quite the same, chaotic energy, if you will, as we've seen in the past,” Keating said. “It's still very festive, and great opportunities to save and spend time with family in a very festive environment.”
Speaking of that environment, the mall is decorated for the holidays, and Keating said some families even show up to shop in matching outfits or homemade t-shirts.
Fayette Mall opens Friday morning at 7 a.m. and will remain open through 9 p.m. that night. Also on Friday, customers who spend $200 at the mall can receive a ‘Santa Token,’ which is a free photo package with Santa, while supplies last. You can find more about that here.
