CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi shoppers hit the stores early Friday morning, but the scene was far from the chaotic stampede many expect on Black Friday.
The day started before sunrise with alarms blaring, cars loading up and shoppers heading to their first stop: Academy Sports + Outdoors.
“We got our workout in at 5:30 in the morning to come and do some shopping,” said shopper Sarah McDonald.
“Is this your first stop?"
"No, this is my second."
Others had been up just as early.
“I’ve been up since like 6 or 5,” said Melania Walker, also out hunting for deals.
Academy offered 30–50% off clothing and about 25% off most shoes. Even with the deals, crowds were surprisingly manageable.
By mid-morning, the store stayed calm.
“I think Academy was a lot less crazy than Ulta,” Walker said.
After Academy, many shoppers made their way to La Palmera Mall — the city’s Black Friday battleground. But instead of chaos, the mall was filled with steady crowds, bright sale signs and people moving quickly from store to store.
“We saw some good deals,” said shopper Izaiah Cintron, before adding, “But there’s some that could have been better.”
Parking wasn’t too big of a headache, either, but was still no easy task.
“It’s busier than usual, but we found a parking spot pretty quick,” Cintron said.
For shoppers using Black Friday to get ahead on holiday gifting, the traffic and lines were worth it.
“We’re shopping for Christmas presents for my mom,” one shopper said while weaving through the crowds.
And for many, the discounts were simply impossible to resist.
“They were too good to pass up. I definitely bought a lot more than I should’ve,” Walker said.
Another shopper, McDonald, summed up the day:
“We weren’t expecting to spend too much money, but it’ll be worth it in the end for sure.”
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