Black Friday Begins Earlier Than Ever In Md.
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- Hunting for the best deals. Shoppers across Maryland hit the stores to get a start on their holiday shopping.
Mike Hellgren has a look at this year's Black Friday shopping.
Black Friday offered the usual drama--police had to peel a shopper off a TV at a Walmart in Texas--but in Towson Town Center, one of the busiest shopping days of the year was free of theatrics.
"It's actually a lot less crowded than I thought it would be," said Rachel McNear. "Cause I've always seen the overblown, people knocking down the store doors and cat fights going on."
The parking lot was packed Friday morning. The mall opened earlier than ever--6 p.m. Thanksgiving night--and has yet to close.
"Some shoppers don't want to come out until 6 a.m. on Black Friday. Some people are looking for the big doorbuster deals on Thanksgiving, so they're coming out at 6 p.m.," said Annie Wildasin, General Growth Properties. "So we allowed for the retailers to make that decision."
"It balances out the crowds," said Keegan Harper. "Some people come yesterday, some people come today."
"I think it's a good thing, but at the same time it is taking away holiday, family time people should be spending with each other on Thanksgiving," said Matt Danoff. "But at the same time, if you're into deals, then good for you."
The National Retail Federation says sales are expected to be up nationwide 4.1 percent over last year. Lower gas prices are fueling some of that growth.
While brick and mortar stores are again facing competition from those shopping online, there's plenty to keep those working at traditional retailers busy all weekend long.
"We all have short shifts, for sure. So we can all keep our energy up and stay nice and peppy," said Manya Caralle, Lush floor manager.
"We're going straight through. We've got our shifts, we've got our food upstairs, we're rocking it out," said Dellonese Isaac, Pandora sales associate.
Towson Town Center closes at 10 p.m. Friday. In all, it will have been opened 28 hours straight.
Shoppers nationwide are expected to spend more than $600 billion through November and December.
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