Never-ending lines stretching throughout the store. Adrenaline and caffeine from Starbucks running through the veins of customers in line. Shoppers pushing and shoving, trying to get the best sales. Deals like you’ve never seen before.
Black Friday.
Black Friday comes annually the day after Thanksgiving. It is when stores drastically mark their prices down, causing a frenzy among shoppers all over the world.
For some, Black Friday starts the morning after Thanksgiving, but for others it carries on from midnight until the crack of dawn.
Sophomore Sarani Pachalla and her family have a special tradition where they all go Black Friday shopping.
“I started at 3 a.m., and I went to every single store in the mall until 12:30 p.m.,” she said. “Then I went home and took and nap, and then I went again from 5 to 7 [p.m.].”
Pachalla said spending time with family is part of what makes the experience so special.
“Being with my cousins and shopping is really fun,” she said. “It’s a family tradition.”
Pachalla said she enjoyed every aspect of the experience except the long lines, which she said seemed to go on forever.
“At 3, it was super crazy and the lines were insane,” she said. “As the day went on, the lines were still long, but the people weren’t as crazy,” she said.
Pachalla said the deals were good, but they are not the main reason she goes shopping.
“The discounts were okay — like 30% or 40% off,” she said. “They weren’t huge deals, but it’s just kinda the idea of going shopping.”
Pachalla said she loved shopping at Forever 21 because they have a multitude of great items to choose from at an equally great price.
“At Forever 21 there is nothing that runs out of stock,” she said. “At a lot of other stores, all the cute stuff ran out before 3 [a.m.], but at Forever 21 you can always find things.”
Pachalla said she spent around $400 during her Black Friday shopping spree.
“I don’t go shopping that often during the year,” she said. “I get all my winter clothes on Black Friday. I bought yoga pants, so many sweaters, new high heels, new Toms, bow clips for my hair, scarves and socks.”
Pachalla said she loves the excitement and commotion that goes hand-in-hand with Black Friday.
“There was this one grandma that was fighting some girl for this sweater, and the grandma bit the girl and ran away with it,” she said. “Sometimes the crazy people are entertaining, until they try to steal something from you.”