GLENDALE, AZ — There were no signs of a down economy at the Tanger Outlets in Glendale this Black Friday.
The open-air shopping plaza was packed!
Thousands of shoppers moved shoulder to shoulder, and bag to bag in search of the best Black Friday deals.
"I enjoy the crowds, seeing everybody out with their families," said shopper, Stormi Robinson.
Robinson says she did have to work a bit, though, before the fun. "Finding a parking space was crazy!" she said with a laugh.
It took drivers a half-hour, at minimum, to find parking. But once inside, for shoppers like Kori Treece and family, it was full speed ahead.
Treece, enjoying the day out with three generations of female family, keeping up a long-standing Black Friday Tradition.
"Ten or fifteen years?," Treece reflected while adjusting an arm-full of shopping bags. "My mom and all of our sisters, and some of the grandkids get to come. Just granddaughters, but they have to be graduated from high school first, so they don't ruin the Christmas surprise," she said.
"It's the one day that the husbands take care of the kids, and we just kind of go out to eat, shop, go out to eat, shop," Treece said, laughing with her sisters.
She says her shopping list is just as long this year, but she's always looking for deals, and sticking to her budget, for the most part.
"I've only bought one thing for myself!" she said.
And despite Kori's best efforts to snag the family shopping crown, all agreed, mom, is still the Black Friday queen.
"I'm the grandma and great grandma, so I'm the queen of everything," Mona Johnson said. "But you're always looking for a good deal and a bargain and it just kind of gets us in the mood and in the holiday spirit," she said.
The Tanger Outlets are all decked out in holiday decor, but in a year with high inflation, and a slow economy, they know full well it's the bargains that keep spirits high and the cash flowing.
"In good times people want a good deal, and when times are a little bit tougher, people need to get a good deal, so Tanger Outlets is definitely the way to go shop," said Kate Hansen, Marketing Director for Tanger Outlets, Glendale.
Hansen says they've got lots of special events planned for the holidays, including an "elf on the shelf" hunt for the kids this Black Friday. If they find all the elves located throughout the mall, they can win prizes.
As for the long Black Friday lines, "It's the busiest day of the year! Everybody's out trying to get the best deals, so just have some patience and have some grace," she said.
Shoppers admit they split their dollars these days between online and brick-and-mortar but say nothing can replace the thrill of the Black Friday hustle.
"Next year we're thinking about renting a 16-passenger van because we have so much fun!" mother Johnson said.
