HOUSTON – Despite COVID-19, many shoppers showed up early to Memorial City Mall for Black Friday deals.
“Every year we do this. It’s almost like a tradition coming to Memorial City Mall every Black Friday,” said Juan Garibay. “We want to avoid lines, avoid people, avoid crowds and stuff like that.”
American Girl was a big hit with a line outside the doors when they opened.
“We’ve been very, very busy since the beginning of October,” said Manager Penny Amaya. “We’ve been having lines out there every day because we’re finding that the community is shopping earlier this year because they want to avoid big crowds.”
Stores were prepared with new safety measures.
Zales was only allowing 18 people inside the store at a time. They had a section outside for shoppers to wait.
“We have the stickers put out so we can maintain social distancing and keep our capacity where it’s supposed to be,” said Zales Manager Jasmin Sediqi.
Families said it wouldn’t be the holidays without Black Friday shopping and this year, with safety in mind.
“I’m sure we’ll still run into people, but still trying to avoid as many people as we can with COVID and everything,” said Ashley Long.