LIHUE — Televisions for half price, jackets for 75 percent off, bikes for less than $100 and sports gear offered at buy one, get one free are just some of the deals awaiting shoppers this weekend. “Black Friday is the
LIHUE — Televisions for half price, jackets for 75 percent off, bikes for less than $100 and sports gear offered at buy one, get one free are just some of the deals awaiting shoppers this weekend.
“Black Friday is the traditional kick-off of the holiday shopping season and it’s a wild time for us,” said Wade Lord, manager of the Kukui Grove Center. “It’s traditionally the season for people to get out with their families and start their holiday shopping.”
Nationwide this weekend, more than 135 million Americans will descend upon stores to take advantage of legendary sales, starting a holiday spending season that’s expected to rake in more than $630 billion.
Retail sales are expected to climb 3 percent from what they were last year, and consumers plan to spend an average of $800 on holiday merchandise, according to the National Retail Federation.
The schedule
The shopping event gets rolling today with Win It Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Kukui Grove Center. Folks can enter to win a $500 gift card to stores at the shopping center and listen to live music. The Toys for Tots Collection also kicks off this afternoon.
For most, though, serious shopping starts on Thursday.
“Most people will wait until the Thanksgiving turkey is back in the fridge (to start Black Friday shopping), but it starts right after that,” said Lord. “Kauai is pretty traditional that way.”
Sports Authority, Walmart, Macy’s and Kmart will be opening on Thanksgiving evening.
Sports Authority and Walmart are opening their doors from 6 p.m. to midnight on Thursday. Kmart opens from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., and Macy’s will be opening their doors at 6 p.m.
On Friday, Game Stop will be the first out of the gate, opening their doors at 5 a.m. Home Depot, Kmart and Sports Authority will be open at 6 a.m. Déjà vu Surf Hawaii opens at 7 a.m., and many of the island’s stores open about 8 a.m.
Friday night, folks can see the “Holiday Light Spectacular at The Place to Be,” a synchronized light show beginning at 9 p.m. in front of Starbucks.
“The show lasts half of an hour and it’s going to be really exciting,” Lord said.
The show continues throughout the holidays on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays when the sun goes down.
“There will be plenty of opportunities to see it,” Lord said.
Saturday, many stores will be continuing their specials and the annual Christmas parade at the shopping center will start at 4:30 p.m. The sidewalk sale at Déjà vu and Quicksilver, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, offers 25 percent off body boards, watches, sunglasses and O’Neil items.
“The stores are going to be stocked fully at that point, so early shoppers will get the choice of the full selection of products that the stores are offering,” Lord said. “Take advantage of the sales as well as the full selection of choices.”
The deals
Black Friday door buster deals include a $15 cash card for the first 80 customers in line at Sports Authority and free T-shirts to the first 100 customers at Quicksilver and Déjà vu.
At Macy’s, it will all be about clothing and kitchen appliances, with Black Friday sales ranging from 30 percent to 75 percent off. Inside the store, door busters include select women’s boots for $19.99 (regularly $59 to $69), and select kitchen appliances for $7.99 after a $12 rebate (regularly $39.99).
Walmart’s shining star is predicted to be electronics, with a $800 savings on a Samsung 60-inch 4K Ultra HDTV, $20 savings on an RCA 7-inch 16GB tablet with a keyboard, and $120 savings on a Dell black 15.6-inch Intel i3 laptop.
Grills at The Home Depot will be starting at $99, and there’s a chance to score Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Ryobi tools, like drills and leaf blowers, for $99.
Sports Authority is offering a $15 cash card with a $50 purchase and is offering half off Champion gear, 25 percent off of Nike and Under Armour tennis shoes, and up to $50 off a FitBit.
Hot ticket items include FitBit wristbands, the new iPhone 6S, wifi enabled coffee makers, the DreamWalker hoverboard, and BB-88, a Star Wars themed droid that syncs up with smartphones and tablets. Toys from the movies “Frozen” and “Minions” are popular with kids.
So once the turkey is gone Thursday and the table is clear, break out that TGI 2015 Holiday Gift Guide and make a plan, because it’s time to start shopping.
Entry forms to win a trip for two to Las Vegas are in The Garden Island’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide.
The gift guide, packed with specials and great deals from many of Kauai’s businesses to kick off the shopping season starting Thanksgiving, will be included in Thursday’s TGI, which is availablethrough home delivery and at many stores and newsstands throughout the island.
The completed form — name, email and phone number — can be dropped off by the center stage at the Kukui Grove Shopping Center, which is in the food court. Deadline to enter the contest isSunday. The winner will be notified by phone.
The prize includes roundtrip airfare between Honolulu and Las Vegas.
