SYRACUSE -- Black Friday is a doubled edged sword for Andrew Corley. His Another Time Books store is the only bookstore in the massive Destiny USA mall and in just four months has built up a strong customer base; however, Corley will be working around the clock on the day after Thanksgiving.
Another Time Books only has four employees, including Corley and his wife.
When Corley learned that all 200 plus stores in Destiny USA would be required to open at midnight on Black Friday, he realized that meant the store would have to stay open for 22 hours straight.
"My wife and I will kind of switch off. We'll do shifts. She'll go home for four or five hours and I'll go home for four or five hours so we can keep double coverage," said Corley on Tuesday.
Black Friday can account for 10% of all holiday sales and retailers have been opening stores earlier to bring in customers. Target, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us will now open on Thanksgiving night. On Tuesday, some shoppers who look forward to the deals wondered if Black Friday is dwarfing Thanksgiving.
"The prepping for it is ridiculous. It's out of hand," said Ty McMullen as he took a break from shopping on Tuesday. "It should be time you spend with your family and people are out late at night."
Corley knows he won't have much rest, but the holiday season is essential to Another Time Book's bottom line. An "Eat Sleep Read" sign in the store encourages customers to shop locally but it could also be a description of his Black Friday plan. Corley says early starts and long hours have become a reality of thanksgiving weekend retail.
"Black Friday, we're open 22 hours. normally we're open 11and a half. So it's twice the normal day and it has all this build up so it should be a phenomenal day sales-wise," said Corley.
