Oxford Square to Compete for Black Friday Customers (With Video)

Black Friday is right around the corner, and Oxford stores, as well as shoppers, are already preparing.
If you want to avoid the chaos of malls and big-box stores, Oxford Square shop owners say they will have door-buster sales similar to bigger department stores, but shoppers can expect shorter lines and will not have to fight over the last sweater or pair of boots.
That’s because a large majority of Ole Miss students will head home for the Thanksgiving break, leaving the stores open to local shoppers. But businesses on The Square do expect and hope for crowds; in fact they prepare weeks in advance for the day.
“Black Friday in Oxford is not going to be like a big city, but it’s still pretty busy,” Trés Belle’s manager Jonlyn Reeves said. “We’ll open earlier than normal. We’ve been ordering more merchandise. We plan on staying open later, and we’ll also have more staff than usual just to be able to prepare for all the customers coming in.”
Shoppers in Oxford could benefit as stores compete to grab their attention by improving deals throughout the day and putting out more merchandise.
“Me and my parents actually have a tradition that we go to sleep right after Thanksgiving lunch and then we wake up at 12 a.m. and then start going to the stores,” Ole Miss Junior Cole Hughes said.
Come November 24, the holiday gift season begins, and stores on the Square say they’re ready.

Story contributed by Alexandra Morris. Email Alexandra at aamorris@go.olemiss.edu.