Published on: Thursday, November 29, 2012

By Amber Larkins

The lines were long to get into Target before its opening at 9 p.m. Thanksgiving Day for Black Friday sales at the Mall at Prince Georges.

“We had a rush for Target,” said Victoria Clark, marketing director for the Hyattsville mall.

This was the first year that the Mall at Prince Georges opened at midnight on Black Friday. It was also the first time that Target opened at 9 p.m. nationwide on Thanksgiving with Black Friday deals.

Traffic in the area was affected by the stores’ opening times. There was heavier traffic right before Target’s opening and then again at midnight when 20 more retailers opened. Traffic picked up again around 5 a.m. Friday, when refreshments were served outside of Target and JC Penney.

Depending on whether there are even more stores opening at midnight next year, the mall may shift its 5 a.m. refreshment event to midnight.

This year, the Mall at Prince Georges served about 300 customers cookies and juice in an hour and a half.

Once all the stores were operating, the traffic stopped fluctuating. However, door-buster deals and sales like JC Penney’s $8 deal on all small appliances kept the stores busy throughout the day.

“By noon it looked like a typical Black Friday,” Clark said.

Black Friday sales extended through the weekend at the mall, crossing over into Small Business Saturday.

“We supported Small Business Saturday,” Clark said.