Sawgrass Mills packed with shoppers on Black Friday
SUNRISE - Eager shoppers packed South Florida malls for Black Friday deals as the busiest shopping day is yet to come.
Well before dawn, folks lined up for Black Friday deals and steals at the Sawgrass Mills mall in Sunrise.
"It's worth it to get out here so early because we get out at 11 (a.m.) before the crazy people come," said one shopper outside Lululemon. "I think we are the crazy people!"
The mall opened its doors at 6 a.m.
The lines were wrapped around the buildings outside, and as the day went on the lines kept growing.
"We're close enough so I'm excited for the deals, it's 50 percent off plus 20 percent off, so we're excited for that," says Yurissa Everett
Many shoppers came with their own luggage. The bags weren't for travel but acted as a makeshift shopping cart.
The mall was already busy the day before as the Brandsmart opened its doors on Thanksgiving. Folks were stocking up on must-have electronics, kitchen appliances, and sound systems.
The National Retail Federation predicts Americans will spend close to a trillion dollars during the holidays. That is a three to four percent increase from last year, the increase is mostly due to inflation revving up prices.
Retailers are anticipating more frugal shoppers and began rolling out Black Friday-type sales earlier this week. Experts say more shoppers are turning to online sales.
"Cyber Monday is actually the most popular of the Thanksgiving shopping holidays. Sixty-six percent of shoppers are likely to buy something on Cyber Monday, 61 percent on Small Business Saturday, which I thought was interesting. That's actually ahead of Black Friday at 56 percent," says Ted Rossman, bankrate.com
