Black Friday turning into week-long event

Shopping on Black Friday has been a long-time tradition, but that tradition is rapidly changing. Shoppers were already out in full force tonight as big box stores release deals days before Black Friday.

Snow steadily fell down Sunday night (11/24/13) as shoppers camped out at Sam’s Club on South Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs.

“Weather’s not horrible, super horrible. My feet aren’t frozen yet,” said shopper Sondra Gordon.

They weren’t waiting in line for Black Friday. Shoppers only had to wait a few hours to take advantage of Black Friday deals on Sunday.

“I think there’s less people than being here on Black Friday,” said shopper Kevin Harris.

Stores like Sam’s Club started offering Black Friday sales at 7 p.m. Sunday, five days before Black Friday.

“I’ve been out here since 12 p.m.,” said shopper Juan Cerda.

Waiting in the snow and cold for a few hours five days before Black Friday to get deals on TVs and the Samsung Galaxy 5S phone, people say is worth it and might be better than Black Friday.

“Instead of wasting our Thanksgiving family time, they give us an extra early chance,” said Cerda.

“If I was doing this a three in the morning, it wouldn’t happen, that’s for sure,” said Gordon with a laugh.

Meanwhile, Best Buy has busted out the deals days ahead, but there’s no black friday madness in sight.

“It’s weird because I’m used to waking up early and just going with my family early and waiting like two hours to pay for our stuff,” said shopper Rodrigo Amaya.

The Black Friday tradition is transitioning into more of a weeklong event.

“It’s pretty crazy, but I think it’s pretty worth it,” said Amaya.

WalMart started matching Black Friday specials on Friday, November 22 – a full week before the traditional Black Friday event.