Local shoppers disappointed by Black Friday sales

(ABC 6 News) – Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year, and the discounts enticed many shoppers out to Apache Mall in Rochester.

Mall officials say it isn’t the biggest crowds they’ve seen for Black Friday, but plenty of consumers still made their way around the mall hunting for the best deals.

Among the crowds were those who don’t typically hit the stores on this busy shopping day, as well as more experienced Black Friday shoppers.

“We got here about 7:03, we pulled into the parking lot because we had to get in line for lululemon and that opens at 8:00, so this is our tradition, we come early to get the good deals at lululemon,” said shopper Shelly Stowell.

This year, shoppers didn’t find the deals as impressive as years past.

Shopper Adrina Hasz said many of the sales she saw were only around 25% off, a deal which she could find during other times of the year.

“They’ve definitely changed over the years, it’s not as exciting as it used to be,” said Gaby Stowell.

“Yeah, not really like a lot of door busters, and when you don’t have the newspaper too I think it’s kinda hard to know what’s on sale until you come in the store,” added Shelly Stowell.

Even though Black Friday may not look exactly the same as it once did, the National Retail Federation still predicts holiday spending will grow between 2.5% and 3.5% over last year.