Pre-Black Friday shopping brings out hundreds in Roanoke

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ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - We saw hundreds of people come out Thursday in the Valley View area to take advantage of some of the early deals, and some of the stores are planning to stay open for the next 24 hours to accommodate the rush.

For some people, it's a Thanksgiving tradition, and for others it's a way to get all of their holiday shopping done on the cheap.

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At Best Buy off of Valley View Boulevard, Ginger Ross was first in line at 8 a.m. Thursday morning.

"The Tv's are always a big thing, and laptops and the VR gear, that's what we're looking for this year," said Ross.

Electronics were also what Rodney Musselman was looking for when he got in line at Target just a few hours later.

"This is my first time out on Black Friday and I just wanted to get an XBOX and they had a great deal on one so I figured I'd just get out here and go ahead and wait in line and get one," said Musselman.

We asked people whether shopping meant having to forgo time with family.

Ross says, for her family, shopping is part of the tradition.

"My kids know this is my yearly thing so we eat late. It's done, but they're going to eat it late," said Ross.

For shopper Julie Mollette, who got in line at Belk, she just finds a way to make it work.

"Normally we cook and all that, but this year we went to Cracker Barrel and ate... And then we came here. So Thanksgiving dinner is over, and now it's time to shop," said Mollette.

According to the Better Business Bureau, shoppers will spend around $900 each, but Mollette says it's a lot less than she'd be paying otherwise.

"I have a three-year-old at home. If I can save any money I'm going to save money," said Mollette.

Some stores like Target are planning to stay open until 11 o'clock on Saturday night, and according to the Better Business Bureau, that's a good idea.

This weekend, there's supposed to be 137,000,000 shoppers around the country trying to take advantage of deals.