Deal-hungry shoppers flocked to stores this Black Friday, navigating in-person crowds in search of bargains.
Eye-catching decorations and festive Christmas music set the tone at Village District, getting shoppers in the holiday spirit.
“I definitely bought a few more things I wouldn’t have bought if it wasn’t Black Friday,” Carly Tilson, shopper said.
While shoppers like Tilson scoured for the best deals, this year’s Black Friday experience felt noticeably different compared to previous years.
“It’s definitely not waking up at midnight, standing by the door waiting for it to open,” Tilson said.
This sentiment was echoed by shoppers at White Oak Crossing in Garner.
“This is the easiest time I’ve ever experienced trying to get a MacBook Air,” Jusu Williams, shopper said.
“It is super chill, not crowded. I just went into Dick’s, and there’s no long lines,” added Lexi Grady.
From a sales perspective, brick-and-mortar stores are finding creative ways to compete with the convenience of online shopping, which allows customers to browse and purchase anytime.
“Everyone’s saying they’re getting everything from Amazon, or they’re just looking today to get Christmas ideas,” Alex Walker, a sales representative at Coastal Urge said.
At Coastal Urge, the team aimed to entice shoppers with special Black Friday and Small Business Saturday discounts.
“We started off with 15% this week, then this morning bumped it to 20%. Realizing people might need more incentive to make it budget-friendly, we upped it to 25%, and it’s running through the weekend,” Yev Rad, assistant manager at Coastal Urge said.
This year, the National Retail Federation projects that 183.4 million people will shop in-store and online from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday—an increase from 182 million in 2023 and 166.3 million in 2019.
“It’s definitely awesome to step in and see 25% off in the store, which makes it more tempting to go shopping,” Tilson said.
For some, the experience of finding the perfect item at an unbeatable in-store bargain remains a compelling advantage.