JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Thousands of shoppers continued to make their way out to stores and malls across the Jacksonville area Friday, trying to take advantage of Black Friday deals.
Even though some of the best deals were offered early Friday morning, the Avenues mall was still full of people Friday afternoon. They said there were still some great sales going on.
Store managers said turnout was great and shoppers said it was worth fighting the crowds.
"The deals were amazing here," Stacey Rimes said. "I mean we've gotten probably more than 75 percent off of things, so it was really good deals."
Mother-daughter duo Stacey and Jordan Rimes got up at 4:30 in the morning and drove 50 miles from Starke to shop. They said it's all about timing.
"Definitely before 1 p.m. the deals are so much better, so that's why we had to get here at 6 a.m." Jordan Rimes said. "The coupons work better after 1 o'clock. You can't really use many coupons with the early bird specials."
The Rimeses were just two of thousands of shoppers at the Avenues Mall. They said they didn't mind the crowds. Neither did the retailers.
Managers at J.C. Penney said Black Friday kicks off their holiday season and plays a big part in how the store does for the year.
"We had a humongous turnout," store manager Carla Finney said. "We had lots of great buys that continue all until the afternoon and the customer has responded really well. They've been patient with us, because we've had some lines and some things like that, but business is great."
And after a whole day of shopping, the Rimeses said they'd do it all again.
"Great experience. And love it here. This is really a nice mall," Stacey Rimes said.
And the Black Friday experience isn't over. The Avenues Mall is open until 10 p.m. and many of the stores will have deals until then.
If you missed out on shopping Friday, tomorrow is Small Business Saturday.