Black Friday is almost underway. From Downtown Summerlin to across the country, some people are heading out with full bellies after Thanksgiving. 3 Action News is looking at how experts say Black Friday may slowly be changing.
We are used to seeing a rush of shoppers at department stores. That was the scene at one of the busiest Macy's locations in Manhattan on Thursday. But things were quieter at Downtown Summerlin.
"The excitement I think of Black Friday maybe isn't as big as it was ... just a handful of years ago," said Anthony Rossi.
Rossi is the General Manager of Downtown Summerlin.
"Tonight's an optional opening, even with that we saw a few dozen retailers that are going to be open tonight," he said, "starting tomorrow morning ... the rest of the shopping centers is going to be open."
Shoppers tell 13 Action News they were checking out the available deals.
"Some jackets and other little presents for cousins," said one woman.
Across America, 34 million hit the stores and went shopping online tonight.
Experts say electronics, cell phones and smart watches were high on their wishlist.
Rossi says despite the smaller crowds at the mall on Thursday, business is still good.
"It's not going to be as crucial for a lot of retailers to be open tonight just based on the traffic patterns," he said. "Over the last five years, we've seen the traffic shift away from your midnight openings onto more spread out throughout the week."
Rossi says Downtown Summerlin has exceeded the national average for traffic and sales. There's a lot of reason to be optimistic about the holiday shopping forecast.
