WBTW

Dedicated Black Friday shoppers rush to cash in on major deals at Myrtle Beach Outlets

Lauren Crawford

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The holiday shopping season officially kicks off with Black Friday madness in full swing at the Tanger Outlet retail stores drawing thousands who race to find the best deals.

Crowds start their holiday shopping and tackle the outlet chaos searching for the best sale. Massive sales brought massive crowds leaving cars no choice but to illegally park because of the lack of space in the parking lots.

The Red Lobster restaurant on Hwy 17 was among the surrounding Tanger Outlet restaurants charging shoppers to park in their overflow lots.

“We had driven around the parking lot, and we were like, oh, we will park at Red Lobster, and we parked out front, and the manager came out and told us that was for restaurant guests only,” Black Friday shopper, Allyson Johnson said.

Stores prepare months for this day stocking up on inventory and staffing plenty of employees to handle massive crowds forming lines outside the store.

“It would be so crowded in the store that you could barely get around. We couldn’t help people or get them what they need so we came up with this method of creating a line,” the Vans store manager told News13.

Even with the shopping madness, some stores still make it a top priority to provide loyal shoppers with quality customer service. “Sometimes, we do activities in line with the customers, so when they come into the store, they are part of the activities going on, and it keeps them excited and want to shop,” Van’s store manager said.

Black Friday shopping is a family tradition following the National Holiday that brings families together and holiday shoppers dedicate this day fighting crowds alongside each other.

“It’s just time together and running into madness,” The Carter Family said.

Small business Saturday begins Saturday morning, November 30th. Here are a number of small businesses participating in Small Business Saturday: