Many Stores Reached Highest Numbers Ever this Black Friday

Grand Forks (WDAY/WDAZ) -- Earlier hours led to more shoppers looking to get their hands on bargains on Black Friday. Many stores were well over capacity, leading to their highest numbers ever.

For retailers, the much earlier openings seem to be well worth it, as this year marks the biggest Black Friday turnout of all time. Stores across the nation report overwhelming crowds, Grand Forks is no exception.

Brian Tiry / Target Manager: “They started lining up at the doors behind us and it went down the street into Gordmans parking lot and around the corner of the building.”

More than 80 million shoppers hit the cramped malls and stores. That’s more than 1/3 of all consumers. Holiday sales are estimated to increase nearly 3 percent to 465 billion dollars.

Brian: “It was a bigger crowd than last year. I don't know the exact number, but it was in the thousands.”

And the success didn't stop at big chains. Local businesses like Kittson & 3rd here in Grand Forks are also in the black.

Nicole Schiller/ Co-owner, Kittson & 3rd: “We were pleasantly surprised with Black Friday. We were a little bit nervous going up against the big guys here of Grand Forks, but everything went really well for us.”

Despite not having massive advertising campaigns, this clothing and accessory boutique that has only been open 3 weeks experienced some of the same Black Friday chaos as the big guys .

Nicole: “We actually had a line outside the door waiting to get in here at 8 AM, which was awesome to see, especially being a new business downtown.”

Economists say Friday's turnout is a good indicator for the rest of the holiday shopping season.

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