From Taylor Swift to Nike, Black Friday deals at Chicago-area malls are drawing large crowds and long lines

For the past 15 years, Zac Paeth and Gene Walters have spent Black Friday under the weight of shopping bags. This year they were spotted at Woodfield Mall leaving the busy Lego store with yellow shopping bags full of toys like the recently released Nightmare Before Christmas set, which was “sold out everywhere.”

With matching Santa hats and Starbucks holiday cups in hand, they traditionally spend the day after Thanksgiving bargain hunting.

“I did Black Friday shopping where I didn’t buy anything – I just went out for fun. My daughter is here with her friends and we drive around and pick up three of her friends,” Walters said. “It feels like some of the sales are coming back this year…so sometimes, like I said, I don’t spend anything, and then there are times like this when I spend a lot.”

Chicagoans flocked to neighborhood malls and big box stores on Black Friday to score holiday deals, with many joining in the tradition at 6 a.m. when most malls like Woodfield opened their doors.

“This is our Superbowl,” said Emily Holdeman, assistant marketing manager at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. “I think it’s a tradition for (people). I think it’s fun to get their coffee; They get their energy drinks.”

Retailers like Best Buy, Amazon and Target have been pushing holiday deals for weeks, but Black Friday remains the busiest day of the year for retail traffic in the U.S., according to retail technology company Sensormatic Solutions.

“It’s important for them to attract customers to their store and give them the experience of browsing and touching and feeling items. It may also be an indication for retailers of what to expect for the rest of the holiday season,” said Grant Gustafson, head of retail advisory and analytics at Sensormatic.

According to a survey released this month by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, 183.4 million people plan to shop in stores and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber ​​Monday. That’s more than the previous record of 182 million people in 2023.

NRF previously forecast that holiday sales in November and December would total $979.5 billion to $989 billion, up between 2.5% and 3.5% from last year.

Separately, digital research firm Adobe expects U.S. online holiday sales to total $240.8 billion, up 8.4% year over year.

Christa Sowa of Glen Ellyn has passed on her love of early morning shopping to her daughter Liliana, 12, and even her daughter’s friend, Natalie Hauser, 11. The girls wore matching French braids.

“That’s cute,” Christa Sowa said to Liliana Sowa, who was holding up a black children’s T-shirt at the Athleta sportswear store. “Add to stack.”

The Sowas began regularly visiting Woodfield on Black Friday several years ago as a way to get out of the house after COVID-19 lockdowns were lifted. When Christa Sowa went next door to look at the cheerleading uniforms at the Cheer Shoppe, Liliana Sowa and Hauser were practicing TikTok dances in the mirror at Athleta.

“I grew up with Black Friday shopping. It was such a tradition to get up and leave,” said Christa Sowa. “I came down at five this morning and they were ready to go. … They’re at the age where they need independence and want to come and look and explore a little bit, and that’s why I feel comfortable here.”

While traffic heading into Woodfield was calm at 6 a.m., by 9 a.m. much of the parking lot was full and the mall was full of shoppers.

According to store manager Patricia Cigarroa, the Pandora jewelry store usually has long lines on Black Friday, but Friday wasn’t as busy.

“We actually launched our Black Friday deals two weeks ago,” Cigarroa said. “(Shoppers) didn’t have to worry about getting up at six in the morning. That would be my guess. I can’t explain it any other way. I have the store prepared and I have enough (staff) to handle typical traffic, but they are not here.”

But some Pandora customers like Tanisha Thomas, 29, and Joe Alm, 24, were ready to shop there before 7 a.m

Thomas had his eye on a ring and was able to buy it in the store. “Pandora is my first choice,” she said. “It’s now easier to just buy it in person and see what you want without having to return it or worry about shipping.”

Fourteen-year-old Brynn Skinner also loves shopping in stores. She joined her friends at 5:30 a.m. for her first Black Friday experience after watching TikTok videos with promotional offers. “I don’t want to wait. I hate waiting for my packages,” Skinner said.

At the Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont, lines formed outside stores with wait times of more than an hour. Polo Ralph Lauren announced a 50% discount and had 100 people in line at 8:45 a.m., while the Nike store had about 50 people in line. Other retailers such as Converse also offered steep discounts of up to 50%.

Katie Walsh, senior marketing manager for Fashion Outlets of Chicago, said there were “tons of lines” at many outside stores, including Gucci, Lululemon and Ugg, before the 6 a.m. opening.

DJ Lani Love played music at the outlet mall, where roller skating dancers later performed to keep the energy up during the long day of shopping.

“Many of our stores have exclusive Black Friday deals or exclusive outlet products, so you definitely have to come here,” Walsh said. “And one more thing: the luxury stores don’t publish their Black Friday sales. So if you want to know, you’ll actually have to come here to see what it is.”

Meanwhile, major chains like Target attracted customers with exclusive deals and merchandise. The retailer offered a book about Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour as well as a bonus CD and vinyl edition of her album “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,” which will only be available in stores on Black Friday before customers can purchase them online starting Saturday .

Mari Flores, 18, is a big Swiftie fan, but thought of her 29-year-old sister while shopping at the Harlem Irving Plaza Target in Norridge. She bought the exclusive Taylor Swift CD as a gift.

“(My sister) collects the CDs,” Flores said. “I’m the one who collects the vinyl. We’ve gotten the Target collaborations before and I enjoy collecting the different versions.”

Vicky Hernandez was in the toy department holding several Rainbow High dolls that were $10 off. She plans to expand her doll collection, but misses what Black Friday shopping “used to be like” a decade ago.

“I think online shopping has changed it,” Hernandez said. “It’s not like it used to be. I enjoy the chaos. We always went there to witness the chaos, not necessarily to fight over the objects.”

Contributors: Amy Yee and AP