httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQF47RFIvaI
Shoppers crowded the malls and shopping centers for Black Friday bargains, although not in the numbers seen Thanksgiving night, and mild weather beckoned people downtown for sidewalk sales and lunch.
Anyone who saw the three Stephens sisters from New Orleans shopping downtown Ocean Springs on Black Friday understands why Small Business Saturday is growing in popularity each year.
Shopping local is being promoted in cities across South Mississippi and the country.
The sisters cook Thanksgiving dinner together, then drive to Ocean Springs to shop.
A store promotion gives shoppers on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday a reward when they return for last-minute gifts just before Christmas, and the Miners wrap the toys.
The rest of the experience of shopping the local stores is typically more relaxed and personal.
Some shoppers in South Mississippi lined up for the big sales at the national chains Thanksgiving night and others were at the stores, but in shorter lines, when they opened on Black Friday.
Before dawn at Home Depot in Biloxi, shoppers compared lists and snacked on the free coffee and donuts sent out shortly before the doors opened at 6 p.m. The bargains made it worth getting up early, shoppers said.