Let the Shopping Begin:Gateway Center Stores Prepping for Black Friday Crowds

Once the turkey and stuffing and all the pies have been consumed, once the dads and grandfathers and small boys have had their fill of Thanksgiving Day football and before dawn has come, stores across the state and right here in Everett will be opening their doors to some of the largest shopping crowds of the year.

That’s right, Black Friday – that modern start to the Holiday shopping season – is this week and from all appearances, Everett’s Gateway Center and the stretch of Route 16 between Everett Stadium and Wellington Circle will become ground zero locally for thousands of eager shoppers and most likely the biggest traffic jam of the year as a result.

Traditionally, Black Friday has been a mechanism for large nationwide retailers to get a jump on their holiday sales numbers, as their large buying power gives them an opportunity to offer deep discounts on higher priced items, with the sales lasting just a day or two,

In recent years, some large retail chains have begun opening their stores on Thanksgiving night to get a jump on their competition, buy the only store that appears to be employing that strategy in Everett this year will be Best Buy.

Shopping will actually get started here on Thursday evening as big box electronics chain Best Buy is beginning their Black Friday events at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Target, the largest nationally known retailer in the Gateway Shopping center will open its doors at 1 a.m. on Friday, November 27 instead.

The remainder of the big box retailers and clothing chains will open later in the day, with most offering extended hours in the late evening of Friday and opening early again on Saturday, Nov. 28 as well.

If long lines at cash registers and trolling parking lots looking for a parking space are your thing, you will have ample opportunity to do so close to home this week.

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