For decades and decades, families across the U.S. have gathered around the table for Thanksgiving.

For a long time, post-dinner became a sort of combination — watching the Lions lose, taking a good nap and scoping out the Black Friday deals. You'd crash for a few hours, then wait outside your favorite retailer in the wee hours of the morning for a doorbuster deal on televisions, smartphones, Xboxes.

People don't camp in tents like they used to. Post-COVID, a slowly shifting trend solidified as even the biggest retailers closed their doors on Thanksgiving and broadened Black Friday deals to several days or weeks, rather than hours.

And yet, Black Friday continues to spell big business for box stores across the country.

How big? Statistics provided by the National Retail Federation predict an estimated 166.3 million people plan on shopping at some point between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. That's an increase of almost eight million people from last year — and the highest total since NRF began tracking.

Of those expected to shop over the holiday weekend, 69 percent (114.9 million) plan to shop on Black Friday and 38 percent on Cyber Monday.

Locally, stores are already preparing for Thanksgiving.

Elvir Tabakovic, a Meijer store director in West Michigan, said staff is gearing up for a busy weekend.

"We expect the whole week to be busy, but especially Friday, with the combination of our two-day sale deals and the return of Santa Bucks," Tabakovic wrote in an email. "We have increased inventory for this holiday season to make it easier to get what everyone wants from their wish list.

"After the challenges of the last two years, we're excited to offer families a broad selection of the gifts they want available right at their fingertips."

Tabakovic said the store plans to open at 6 a.m. Black Friday and will spend the week leading up to the big day stocking shelves.

"We receive more shipments to the store in preparation for Thanksgiving meals and holiday shopping, so lots of extra work goes into stocking shelves," Tabakovic said. "During the beginning of the week, we focus more on food, and the emphasis for the second half of the week is on gifts."

The NRF expects a big increase from 2021, despite the current state of the economy.

"While there is much speculation about inflation's impact on consumer behavior, our data tells us that this Thanksgiving holiday weekend will see robust store traffic with a record number of shoppers taking advantage of value pricing," said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the NRF.

What drives people out of their homes and into the cold and congested parking lots? The NRF estimates 59 percent shop for the deals, 27 percent shop because it's tradition and 22 percent shop because it's something to do over the holiday.

While everyone is hunting for big discounts, statistics show most retailers hover close to the 25 percent mark.

It helps that shoppers are starting their holiday season earlier and earlier each year.

Similar to 2020 and 2021, 60 percent of shoppers have started browsing and buying in early November this year, with some spending in October.

With so much demand, retailers are working hard to keep things running smoothly. On big ticket items with limited supplies, Tabakovic said his store has a ticket system in place. Across the board, retailers bring in more staff than usual.

"We want to ensure that all our customers have the best shopping experience," Tabakovic said.

— Contact freelancer Austin Metz at ametz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Black Friday sales expected to increase in 2022