A major Hamilton retailer has pronounced Black Friday sales a fantastic success, and is now seeing a steady increase in spending in the lead up to Christmas.

Deanne Hart, marketing and communications head at The Phoenix Stores Group, said the energy and excitement from the November 29 event was palpable.

“People started queuing as early as 6am,” she said. “We are always thrilled to see how much our community enjoys this annual shopping tradition. The turnout showed just how eagerly people were looking forward to deals.”

The Phoenix Store Group that includes P-Tech and Brown & Co, has seen a notable surge in items focusing on family and entertaining.

Early trends suggest the store is experiencing stronger engagement than last year with customers embracing special offers and seasonal products.

Lizzie Outerbridge, who took over Pirates Port Ladies in the Washington Mall in July, reported good sales throughout Black Friday.

“We also held sales on Saturday,” she said. “We were busy both days.”

She said the store is best known for its cardigans.

“Our jeans and petite and plus-size items have also sold well,” she said. “We also have Christmas T-shirts and jewellery.”

Ms Outerbridge said many people come in and find things they had planned to buy online.

“We are feeling pretty good about Christmas,” she said. “It is a little hectic, but we are ready and excited.”

Black Friday sales were so beneficial to the City of Hamilton that even shops not holding sales reaped the benefits.

Mia Chambray of natural beauty product store Cassine said the day was awesome.

“We did not do Black Friday sales, but we did get the whiplash from it,” she said. “We had high traffic in our store all day. Town was so busy from 6am onwards. It was wonderful to see so many people in Hamilton.”

The Reid Street store owner said it demonstrated people in Bermuda want to buy locally.

“It is super expensive to import things,” she said. “If given the chance, people would rather shop here.”

This year red light therapy masks were one of the hot-ticket items at Cassine, along with a line of super-soft clothing made from bamboo.

Vanosdelle Swan, senior sales associate at Waterfront Man said the Front Street store was busy all day on Black Friday.

Somers Cooper, general manager of Waterfront Man and Vineyard Vines, said they sold a little more than expected on that day.

“Vineyard Vines did slightly better than Waterfront Man,” Mr Cooper said.

When they opened at 8am, customers seemed particularly excited to see brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren on sale.

“I do feel it is going to be a good Christmas,” Mr Cooper said. “We had a great October and a good November. We have enough product and we have what the customers are looking for, so our outlook is positive.”

Gosling’s managing director Ambrose Gosling said Black Friday sales were 100 per cent better this year for the firm compared to last year.

“We always offer discounts based on the calendar date,” Mr Gosling said. “This year was November 29, so we offered up to 29 per cent off.”

He thought they did better this time around because they started marketing their Black Friday sales earlier than last year.

“That paid dividends,” he said. “The key was also offering high-quality products. The sought after Christmas wines and spirits were on sale as opposed to stale products or slow movers.”

Veuve Clicquot champagne, Goldeneye Pinot Noir and their high-end rum Papa Seal, were the top sellers.

“People were looking for things they could put on the Christmas table, or take to parties,” Mr Gosling said.

Chamber of Commerce president Marico Thomas said Black Friday business had been good.

“Many stores started their Black Friday sales earlier to bring in more traffic,” he said. “Customers enjoyed the extended hours as it helped them to work around their schedules.”

After increased activity even online, the Chamber looked forward to a busy Christmas season.

Mr Thomas said: “The Government speaks to a growing economy and we encourage everyone to shop first in Bermuda.”