Despite inflation, crowds turn out for Black Friday

Crowds returned to malls and Michigan Avenue on Black Friday, hunting for something that often seemed elusive: deals to make up for the inflation that has made everyday life more expensive this year.

Though shoppers filled stores Friday, many said they were disappointed not to find more eye-popping savings, especially given how pricey groceries, gas and other essentials have been in recent months. Others said they were there mostly for the experience, and are doing much of their holiday shopping online this year, taking advantage of deals offered throughout the fall and winter, rather than just on Black Friday.

Experts expect this shopping season will be a big one, with holiday retail spending in November and December projected to grow 6% to 8% ― well above the average for the last decade, according to the National Retail Federation. But now, shoppers are increasingly looking for deals earlier, with Black Friday representing the halfway point of the shopping season rather than the kickoff, according to the federation. Many shoppers are also looking for discounts online.

On Black Friday alone, consumers spent $7.28 billion as of 5 p.m., according to Adobe. This Black Friday was expected to set a record for online sales for the day, Adobe said.

In Chicago, online shopping may have helped taper out early morning crowds at Water Tower Place. The mall was nearly empty until 11 a.m. For shoppers like Derek and Stacey Suvlette, that was a good thing. While they said they are primarily scouting out deals online, the Indianapolis couple wanted to take their 7-year-old daughter Scout for the experience of in-person shopping in the city during their visit. Stacey Suvlette said they normally avoid the stores because of crowds.

The first stop for the family was the Lego store for Scout, who was carrying a bag of purchases. “This is what she wanted to do today,” Stacey Suvlette said.

She said she planned to jump on her computer and check for more deals, mainly “Christmas surprises” for her daughter, once she returned to their hotel.

Jackie and Justin Perun, from Naples, Florida, brought their two young children out for similar reasons, wanting to give them the holiday shopping experience. Jackie Perun said it was their first year doing it as a family of four.

She admitted that some of the joy and excitement of Black Friday has simmered down over the years due to the convenience of online shopping, which she does too. The pre-sales make Christmas shopping easier, she said. They’ve been looking out for a blue flatbed truck her oldest, whom she calls a “big truck guy.”

“I feel like stores, in general, have been doing such a great job with pre-sales,” she said. “But other than that, if we see things here that catch our eye, we’ll go for it because stores have different sales in store versus online. It’s hard because with little ones, you just don’t want to disappoint.”

Anne DiCanio, 26, of Elmhurst, and her family also went shopping Friday at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, mostly for the experience, following a yearslong tradition for their family.

They met there at 6 a.m. but they didn’t expect to find any doorbusters.

Rather “the earlier we come, the more time we get to spend together,” said DiCanio’s aunt, Janeen Kroll, 49, of Chicago’s Dunning neighborhood. The tradition is so important to them, that in 2020, early in the pandemic, the group gathered at Kroll’s house to shop online together.

“If all of us don’t leave with Christmas gifts today, I don’t think any of us would be upset,” said DiCanio as the group took a lunch break in the food court.

Natay Wilfinger, 27, of Crystal Lake, also said this year’s Black Friday was a more mellow for her family than in years past when they would head to stores at 4 a.m. to get freebies and doorbusters.

This year, they got to Woodfield around 8:30 a.m.

“I don’t miss waking up, I’ll tell you that,” said her brother Quade Wilfinger, 24, of McHenry, as he stood outside a store Friday, taking a break from shopping.

Now, the “deals go so long,” said his aunt Karin Dietz, 57, of Cary.

Some shoppers, including Brandy Lorenzo, 43, of Huntley, combined online and in-person shopping Friday. While she waited in line for a boba tea for her 12-year-old daughter at Woodfield, she bought shoes on her phone. In Victoria’s Secret, she ordered an item online that she couldn’t find in the store.

“I thought it was convenient,” Lorenzo said.

Some shoppers, however, say they miss the days of racing to the mall to grab predawn deals and steep one-day discounts, especially as they grapple with inflation. Though the pace of inflation has been slowing, consumer prices were up 7.7% in October when compared with the same time last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At Water Tower Place, Colette Williams remembered the early wake-up times to catch doorbuster deals. This year, Williams and her relatives were surprised to find that stores were opening later and the deals weren’t as competitive as they once were.

“I remember standing in line at 5 in the morning at Best Buy because there was some video game my kids wanted,” Williams said. “My husband would get coffee for us, and we would trade off. But there’s not any of that.”

Some consumers say they’ve adjusted their gifting plans this year, given inflation and the lack of doorbusters. .

“It’s tough,” said Dawn Morris, 55, of Belvidere, as she shopped with her daughter, son-in-law and 5-year-old granddaughter at Woodfield. Usually, “we go all out on Christmas gifts. This year we cut back majorly.”

She was disappointed not to find any great deals or doorbusters Friday, despite beginning her shopping before dawn.

Brianna Hunter, 24, of Lake in the Hills, said she and her family have also felt the pinch in recent months. “We’re budgeting more, especially with food prices,” she said.

She said she’s trying to focus on quality over quantity when holiday shopping this year, buying fewer items, but making sure they’re nice ones. Hunter, her sister and mother scored a few holiday gifts at Woodfield but still felt some sticker shock at the prices.

“Imagine how much it would be if it weren’t Black Friday,” said her mother Sheila Hunter, 54, of some of their purchases.

While doorbusters may be of the past, Lizzy Paton said Black Friday is still a big day for her 13-year-old Abi, who has been saving up for a pair of Golden Goose sneakers.

Paton and her two daughters and mother started their day early down at State Street and eventually came to Water Tower Place to make the main purchase.

“We love the holidays, and we want to make the most of it,” she said. “Black Friday shopping is always part of that.”

In recent years, Paton said she’s noticed fewer stores and shoppers at Water Tower Place. This year, she also was surprised to find stores opening much later. They were lounging at a seating area in the mall, waiting for Golden Goose to open at 10 a.m.

She said with pre-sales, her daughter could have bought the shoes much earlier.

“It’s a big deal for her to buy them herself, so we just didn’t want to buy them online,” Paton said.

lschencker@chicagotribune.com

joanderson@chicagotribune.com