TJ Maxx among retailers opening doors again, customers rejoice

BRAINTREE, Mass. — Retailers in Massachusetts were given the green light to open Monday but some local favorites opted to open Thursday. And there were lots of happy shoppers.

Shoppers were welcomed with open arms as they eagerly returned to stores like TJ Maxx and HomeGoods in Braintree. They were itching to go inside.

Emilia Rodriguez celebrated: “I’m glad that they’re finally open!”

Rodriguez soon found out she wasn’t alone.

“Well, I got out my car and was like ‘Oh my God, that line is ridiculous,’” she said.

Packed parking lots and long lines greeted shoppers but they say being able to inside was worth the wait.

Anne Bregoli told Boston 25 she also got great deals.

“Everything is marked down there. Great prices,” she said.

Her friend and shopping sidekcick Janet Casey agreed.

“Definitely, it’s great to be out and about doing errands and not getting online deliveries,” Casey said.

With just online sales until Thursday, TJX Companies, which owns TJ Maxx and HomeGoods, was approaching $1 billion in losses in the first quarter. That’s after being forced to close for almost three months due to COVID-19.

Overall, consumer spending was down nearly 14 percent in April.

So these shoppers hope to help boost sales. Rodriguez admits she loves to shop as she held up her packages.

“Yes, as you can see,” she said.

Some say shopping is therapy but on this day, these shoppers said being able to go out and shop is especially helpful now.

“It’s nice to get back to a little bit of normalcy and go out and do a little shopping,” Casey said.

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