A lot of accents at Macy’s

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jean and I were at Macy’s at Herald Square today. Ok, obviously it was unbelievably busy. A few of the departments looked like tornados had struck them – followed by earthquakes. But none of that is surprising given that it was Black Friday after all.

What was surprising and noticeable was the incredible uptick in foreign accents amongst the shoppers today. And the amount of buying done was incredible.

Here’s a related article I just read that sort of clues in to what I heard at the store:

Discount Hunters Swamp Stores – News Story – WNBC | New York

Glenn Branney, of Belfast, Northern Ireland, had timed his visit to New York to coincide with the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy, known in retail circles as Black Friday. He spent Thursday relaxing, readying himself for Friday’s consumer melee.

Arriving at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue at 4:30 a.m., he bought an iPod Touch and an iPod Nano, both music and video players. Then he moved on to Macy’s, where he had amassed a haul of coats, belts and wallets by 7 a.m.

“I’ve only just started,” said Branney, 31, as he stood in a men’s department peppered with sale signs and strewn with clothes scattered in the shopping scrum. He said he intended to spend a couple of thousand dollars, perhaps more.

“It’s fantastic, really, really good,” he said, adding, “and really cheap.” His home currency, the British pound, rose to $2.0716 in morning European trading Friday, up from $2.0634 the day before.

(Sorry if this sounds a lot like the post from earlier this month.)

It sure would be nice to have the tables turned – I’d love to go back to London one of these days.