HAMBURG, N.Y. — Sure, you've heard of Black Friday or Small Business Saturday, but Pink Friday is gaining traction in Western New York.
Friday, November 17 is a day to support local, women-owned boutiques. Owners of various stores in the region — from Lewiston to Hamburg and everywhere in between — are offering special deals and new inventory in the hopes they draw in holiday shoppers a week early, before the chaos of post-Thanksgiving shopping.
"These are definitely the pillars and foundation of our holiday season, and it's momentum for us. It keeps us excited. It keeps us wanting to bring in new product for our customers. Seeing all of those customers come in, seeing those smiling faces, knowing that we're helping you get gifts for your loved ones, it's a big boost for us. It keeps us going through the holiday season," said Taylor Balbierz, owner of T. Boutique in Hamburg.
Balbierz and her team have been busy this week unboxing new merchandise and stocking shelves and racks for Pink Friday. She's offering a special $20 sale rack, and the bargains and items for sale will be different than the Black Friday deals she's planning.
"Pink Friday is definitely one of those community over competition sort of events, and it really has blown up over the past two years that we have done it," Balbierz said.
Though in 2022, many stores took a hit on Pink Friday because they had to close because of a severe winter storm that hit Western New York.
"It was definitely a hit, but we were able to bounce back from it. We were able to see those smiling faces, see the customers come out and support us [later]. We had the hardship with it, but we did what we could. I actually trekked through the snow and came in and was selling product on Instagram. You've got to do what you got to do," Balbierz said.