A Black Friday guide to North Jersey malls: hours, experiences and inflation
Sales are slowing at Target and Macy's. Amazon and Party City are laying off workers — all signaling a tougher retail environment ahead of the unofficial kickoff of holiday shopping on Friday.
Yet crowds at the American Dream complex in East Rutherford have been brisk this fall, Garden State Plaza kicked off the Christmas season with fanfare last week and Walmart recently raised its earnings outlook for 2022.
It all adds up to an uncertain picture for local malls starting on Black Friday. Yet North Jersey outlets are still pulling out all the stops, dressing up and adding activities and attractions to entice customers despite soaring costs of living.
Retail analysts predict that despite high inflation, shoppers will spend more time and money at the mall this winter.
“They want to go out. It’s an experience, beyond just going on a website,” said Craig Parcells, a broker in Parsippany with real estate services firm JLL. “They want to go out, get a cup of coffee, make a morning of it or afternoon of it.”
JLL predicts that the average American holiday budget will be $868 this year, compared with $870 in 2021, $694 in 2020 amid the pandemic and $874 in 2019. Yet its retail survey also found that those who earn less than $50,000 plan to spend "significantly less," with a total budget of $600, about 31% lower than the average holiday budget.
More:What North Jersey stores are closed for Thanksgiving? Here's a list
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Personal finance website WalletHub found a similar dynamic in an online survey of 400 people, in which 40% of respondents said their family was forgoing gifts due to inflation this year.
Yet “historical foot traffic data indicates that Black Friday is still a major retail holiday that draws crowds to brick-and-mortar retail channels,” said Shira Petrack, a marketing content manager with retail analytics firm Placer.ai, in a Nov. 17 online post.
For stores, "performance may be hampered” by cost-conscious customers, but "the absence of COVID is also likely to give the whole season a boost," continued Petrack, who is based in Israel.
“A full holiday season gives consumers more reason to purchase gifts for friends and family and festive apparel for holiday parties — which means that, despite inflation, this year’s holiday season retail performance may still beat 2021,” Petrack said.
Holiday hours for North Jersey malls
All of the region's malls will be closed on Thanksgiving but plan to open from the early morning to the late evening on Black Friday and the next day.
American Dream in East Rutherford: Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Black Friday. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Bergen Town Center in Paramus: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Black Friday. 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Black Friday. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday
Paramus Park in Paramus: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Black Friday. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
The Shops at Riverside in Hackensack: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Black Friday. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.
The Mall at Short Hills in Short Hills: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Black Friday. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Palisades Center in Rockland County, New York: 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Black Friday. 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Rockaway Townsquare in Morris County: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Black Friday. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Willowbrook Mall in Wayne: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Black Friday. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Earnings results from national chains such as Macy’s, Kohl’s and Gap underscored the cloudy picture for U.S. retailers last week. While Gap said sales had risen in the third quarter, Macy's and Kohl's joined Target in reporting a drop in quarterly profits, as inflation-weary shoppers decided to wait in anticipation of holiday deals.
The big question is whether U.S. consumers will spend more freely in the coming weeks.
“I think everybody believes that Christmas will come, but I don’t think anybody out there knows for sure exactly what’s going to happen,” Kohl’s Chairman Peter Boneparth said.
Garden State Plaza, American Dream offer 'experiences'
To attract more people, operators are dipping into an old playbook of entertainment and attractions, like the venerable mall Santa, who will be working overtime at American Dream.
At the Meadowlands complex, visitors will be able to ice-skate with Santa at the indoor rink or have brunch with the Jolly Old Elf in The Avenue, the high-end wing of the mall, which features luxury fashion shops. Guests at American Dream's waterpark can pose for photos with Shrek dressed as Santa or stop by the “Elf Workshop” to write letters to Santa at the indoor theme park.
“That’s their whole thing — to draw people with experiences,” Parcells said. “They have the ice rink, the ski slope. That’s an appealing thing for winter sports and what people want to do in the winter.”
Garden State Plaza celebrated the holiday season with a drone light show last Friday and the lighting of its towering Big Santa statue. The mall is also letting patrons bring their pet to the mall on Mondays for a photo with Saint Nick.
“We expect a busy Black Friday when people can take advantage of the deals being offered by hundreds of retailers all in one place,” Garden State Plaza Senior General Manager Wesley Rebisz said in a statement.
This article contains material from The Associated Press.
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter: @danielmunoz100
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Black Friday 2022 guide to NJ mall hours, prices and attractions
