Black Friday doesn’t come to rural Alaska communities

Forget about long lines and pushy shoppers ready to do battle for sweet Black Friday deals. In rural Alaska, residents are far removed from all the frenzy that goes with the nation’s most intense shopping day of the year.

Instead, consumers in places off the state’s limited road system, including Bethel, Kotzebue and Barrow, can find a few moderate price breaks on electronics and other products for several days after Thanksgiving at local grocery stores that sell all kinds of goods. But for those wanting a taste of the urban shopping madness, Anchorage and Fairbanks are the places to go.

In small-town Alaska, nowhere are people beating down doors or elbowing each other out of the way.

“It’s a lot more restrained,” said Walter Pickett at Alaska Commercial Co., which has 31 stores in remote communities. “It’s not like we have to have security guards at the front door.”

Huge savings are hard to find for people living in the state’s — and the nation’s — most remote and isolated communities, where crippling living costs are matched by equally steep prices to ship goods in. And it would be pointless to open at midnight in these communities, where folks generally tend to start their days later, according to merchants.

“That would be a total waste of time here,” said Jeff Haglund, assistant manager at Swanson’s grocery store.

That’s something the Alaska Commercial stores tried in the past.

While some people liked the idea, the company fielded complaints from residents living in nearby villages who didn’t have time to travel by snowmobile for a one-day sale, Pickett said. Besides, merchants and residents alike get more excited about deals available each October when most Alaskans receive their part of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend from the state’s oil wealth account.

“We spend a lot more time, effort and resources on PFD-selling opportunities because people have cash in their pocket,” Pickett said. “There’s less money available after Thanksgiving.”

There’s really no need to go hog-wild in rural parts of the state for Black Friday, which is fueled by rival businesses trying to outdo each other to reel in consumers. Bethel is among only a handful of communities that have two grocery stores, and these areas otherwise lack the densely packed competition seen in metropolitan markets.

“There’s still competition, but their competition is with the Internet,” said Neal Fried, an economist in the state Department of Labor. “Their competition is also with just mail order from Anchorage and other places.”

Isabell Elavgak lives in Barrow, the nation’s northern-most town, where Black Friday is more a concept than a reality.

Several years ago, she wanted to get in on the post-Thanksgiving savings on major purchases, so she flew 725 miles south to Anchorage. She got some great deals on a washer, dryer, TV and furniture — only to break even after dishing out more than $2,000 in freight costs.

But at least she got to savor a real Black Friday experience.

“Man, it was crazy,” Elavgak said. “Like the whole world was at the stores.”

For several years now, Dan Henry Jr. and his wife also have traveled to Anchorage, flying 550 miles from the northwest town of Kotzebue to spend Thanksgiving with their children and grandchildren. Each year, they’ve also put in a little Black Friday action.

They’ll do it again this year, but their shopping spree for family Christmas presents won’t involve early-morning lines and frontline crowds, according to Henry, 59, who has lived in Kotzebue all his life.

He and his wife have no specific purchases in mind, so they’ll just take whatever is left over by the time they get there, he said.

“I don’t want anyone to punch me in the face for a dollar,” he said.