BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — As Thanksgiving comes to a close, stores across the Treasure Valley are preparing for a different kind of Black Friday.
The pandemic is affecting what is traditionally the busiest retail day of the year.
On Thanksgiving, customers at Cabela's were trying to get their shopping done early, to avoid what are usually large crowds the following day. With COVID-19 looming through the holiday season, they're being cautious.
Michael Cerovski is one of those shoppers. He went into Cabela's on Thanksgiving, instead of Black Friday, to buy a fishing pole.
"I've never been one to go out and do that during, you know?" Cerovski said. "I'd rather do it before or after."
At the Zamzows on Fairview Avenue, the retailer usually hosts Best Friends Friday, where customers can bring their pets into the store while they shop.
But this year things are different, according to Callie Zamzow, co-CEO of Zamzows.
"We decided to negate the Best Friend Friday thing," Zamzow said.
She said the local company is downplaying its holiday sales events to keep crowd sizes small.
"We're just going to try to keep the flows to a minimum," Zamzow said.
But whether it's a smaller local business or a larger retail chain, some loyal customers believe Black Friday is too important to cancel completely when so many events this year have been put on hold.
"Well, it's something I don't think you can control a whole bunch," Cerovski said. "You have things like that which are traditionalized and you can't really take them away."
The Cabela's on West Franklin Road will have special store hours.
They'll be open from 5:00a.m. to 9:00p.m.
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