Black Friday Shopping Brings Thousands To Md. Stores
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- A battle for bargains. Black Friday is just about over, and thousands of Marylanders took part in the madness to find some of the best deals of the year.
Rick Ritter has more on the shopping frenzy.
There was a consistent flow of shoppers all day long, but officials say more people are now making purchases online. All of this--part of a crucial weekend for most of these stores.
While the infamous brawl videos make Black Friday headlines yet again, like a fight in Kentucky, it's a much calmer scene at the Towson Town Center, but the crowds are no different.
Everyone going after those doorbuster deals.
"True Religion had a nice sale," said Lamont Witherspoon. "Sports blazers, sweaters, hats, scarves."
Some--trimming down the holiday shopping list.
"I bought an iPad for my daughter," said one shopper.
Others--treating themselves.
"I'm getting new dishes, new utensils. It was about me this year," one shopper said.
Overall, the National Retail Federation expects 135 million people to shop during the four day weekend.
Sales are expected to rise 3.7 percent, compared to this time last year.
Between midnight and late Thursday afternoon, officials estimate about $1 billion in online sales, but plenty of customers are still showing up to the malls.
"We really don't see online as competition, per se. We feel like we work in conjunction with it," said Lisa Pisenius, senior general manager, Towson Town Center. "The majority of our stores have the online component."
Store managers, like Donna Nichols, echo that statement. Her Pandora shop was booming on Friday.
"It is definitely much better than last year for us," said Nichols.
A day not only for the bargains, but for tradition.
Some reports indicate that mobile devices--people using their smartphones to make online purchases--will be up about 50 percent compared to this time last year.
According to the National Retail Federation, nearly 80 percent of Americans plan to shop online for Cyber Monday.