People are 'ready to have a normal holiday': Black Friday shoppers flock to Valley malls

After the COVID-19 pandemic made for a scaled-back Black Friday in 2020, stores and shoppers were back in full swing this year, heading out to Valley malls to take advantage of early-morning deals.

Sarah Miller, store manager of Bath & Body Works at Tempe Marketplace, said there'd been a "very steady" stream of people in the store since it opened at 6 a.m. Friday.

The store was operating at full capacity, in contrast to last year's Black Friday that prompted them to cut capacity by 50% because of the pandemic. Though it was much busier, Miller said customers were polite and in "great moods."

"I feel like typically we don't have the mad rush for things like you do at Best Buy or Target," she said. "We're running our Buy 3 Get 3 special — it's a pretty simple promotion but it's one of the best deals we do every year. It makes it a little less confusing for the customers."

Popular items included pre-assembled gift sets and three-wick candles. Miller said the company would be running a "really big" candle promotion in December, meaning Friday won't be the last chance for major savings.

"That will be our busiest day — this is kind of like our dress rehearsal for that," she said.

Among the shoppers at Bath & Body Works was Mary Dyke, who was browsing the store before meeting relatives for lunch.

Dyke said she uses Bath & Body Works products "all the time" but that she usually avoids shopping on Black Friday. After going into the store though, she said "it's not as bad as I thought it was gonna be."

"I think it's definitely doable," she said. "I thought it would be really hectic — I've heard stories about people being thrown to the ground, and it's just very normal but busy. I would do it again."

Kathy Valentine, store manager of Nordstrom Rack, said she'd "definitely seen a pickup in traffic" on Friday compared to last year. "I think people are just more comfortable and they're ready to have a normal holiday," she said.

Valentine said customers were "very friendly and nice," and ready to get into the holiday spirit. That included Kristen Marin, who said Nordstrom Rack was at the top of her list of places to shop on Friday.

"It has a little something for everyone," she told The Arizona Republic, adding that she'd already picked up kids' shoes, a shower curtain and a sweater for herself.

Marin said it was "all about the clearance" for her, noting that the store slashed prices on those items by 40%.

She said she and her husband have a tradition of getting Christmas shopping done on Black Friday, and that she was glad to be making progress by late morning.

"It's a lot of pressure, but I can at least get a good start," she said.

Shoppers head to Westgate, Tanger in Glendale

Brittney Ullman, owner of La Lady Designs, a small clothing boutique at Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale, said the crowds have been rather calm throughout the day.

According to Ullman, Westgate is a spot in the Valley better known for the variety of activities it offers, from bowling and movies to outdoor ice skating that usually opens every year from early November to mid-January every year.

"We don't have a department store, or like a Target here, to pull people here at like 8 a.m. They usually are at Tanger," she said.

Tanger Outlet Phoenix, an outlet mall adjacent to Westgate, definitely captured all the attention of shoppers this Black Friday.

According to Gloria Álvarez, a woman who was shopping at Tanger outlets with her son since Friday morning said the mall had long lines at nearly every store, and car lines extended across the surroundings of the mall.

"I even saw people get out of the car and go inside the mall to shop, while the driver continued waiting in line to find a parking spot," she Álvarez.

She said it took her more than 20 minutes to find a parking spot.

Álvarez said she was hoping to shop at clothing stores and that she was mainly interested in finding Black Friday deals at the Adidas outlet. But was discouraged as soon as she walked in. "It was very crowded, and we just decided to go back home," she said.

Zachary Wormann, a longstanding employee at Just Sports at Westgate, said Friday was not as busy as the store used to get on previous years for the holidays, but he said sales started picking up by early afternoon Friday, and the store became busier than normal days.

"This year I would say is a takeup from last year, many people are worried about the pandemic and stuff," he said.

Ullman said the mall started getting more crowded by midafternoon.

“Some people have been out shopping all day somewhere across the street and now they’re here for dinner,” she said. “(They are) coming after getting their shopping done, for dinner, and just to be out together.”

Reach the reporter at bfrank@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8529. Follow her on Twitter @brieannafrank. Reach breaking news reporter Laura Daniella Sepulveda at lsepulveda@lavozarizona.com or on Twitter @lauradNews.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix-area malls open early to greet return of Black Friday shoppers