Black Friday shopping is a holiday tradition for many Kentuckians

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Many shoppers we spoke with on Black Friday told us it’s a holiday tradition they wouldn’t miss.

Talking to people waiting in line, they told us that they’ve been doing Black Friday shopping for years. Three, four, seven, and more. It’s a tradition for them, with each year creating its own stories.

“A couple years ago, I went into a Walmart and started making trades with people like, ‘Oh like when it starts if you give me these bowls, I’ll give you those bowls,’” said shopper Katalina Byrd.

“Helped a guy jump his car back up from standing outside all night, like me. It’s always something on Black Friday,” said shopper Gabe Green. “You never know what it’s going to be but it’s always going to be something.”

In Lexington, most stores opened up around 5 a.m. and at the Nicholasville Road Best Buy there was already a line of people waiting when the doors opened.

The National Retail Federation estimates that nearly 76 million people will go in-store on Black Friday to shop, which is a little bit of a change from what we see in the last few years.

During the pandemic, online shopping saw a huge boost, but, now, with COVID-19 less on mind, more people have decided this year things should get back to normal.

“It’s a lot different being in post-Covid times. Last time, I was out was in the pandemic and there was no lines like this,” said shopper Isaiah Blair. ”It just seemed like a normal Friday during COVID times. And I’m now seeing that it is going to be hectic.”

We saw plenty of foot traffic out at the stores Friday morning and we expect that to continue throughout the day.

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