Crowds turn up in Orchard Road on Black Friday morning even as sales move online

SINGAPORE – Healthcare worker Hilda Khoo beat out about 400 other shoppers to be first in line to enter Takashimaya on the morning of the annual Black Friday sales event, which fell on Nov 27 this year.

The queue to enter the department store ran from the first floor to the basement, with crowds leaving at least a 1m space for social distancing.

Mrs Khoo, 54, took leave on Friday to buy household items, as she had recently moved to a new home. She was at Takashimaya 50 minutes before the opening time of 11am.

“I thought there would be more of a crowd,” she said.

She was one of many who showed up at physical stores across Singapore despite more Black Friday sales moving online.

“I’m not the type who can shop online. I like to touch and feel fabrics, and I can’t visualise the colour or texture when I see it on screen,” she added.

Black Friday sales started in the United States as a way to mark the start of Christmas shopping. On the first Friday after Thanksgiving Day on Nov 26, stores push out items at discounts.

The Straits Times walked along the Orchard Road shopping stretch on Friday and found queues were shorter and shops less packed than in previous years.

The tone was more muted at Robinsons, which is holding its final Black Friday sale in the light of its recent liquidation announcement.

Still, the 162-year-old department store attracted some loyal shoppers.

Retired senior vice-president in the insurance industry Ong Chong King, 56, has been coming to the store since childhood.

He was in the queue to enter the store at The Heeren at 10am.