Black Friday is expected to be the busiest shopping day of the year, but it's expected to be down from previous years.

Shoppers are spending some of their hard earned cash to kick off the holiday shopping season.

The National Retail Federation stated that 59 percent of Americans will shop this weekend. That’s 137.4 million people — and that period is up from last year.

“I’m going to go to the American Girl store, and I’m going to get my granddaughter a doll,” said Mary Pignato of Daytona Beach.

Retailers will see less revenue from Black Friday itself this year as more shoppers turn to going out on Thanksgiving or shopping online, according to ShopperTrak.

Think Geek at the Florida Mall was closed on Thanksgiving Day.

“What we have found, and the analytics prove it out, is that most customers will come to your business or destination anyway,” Think Geek store manager Greg Vosevich said. “Regardless of if you’re open on Thanksgiving or not, we’re going to see the same amount of traffic we thought we’d see yesterday as well. We’re OK.”

While Shoppertrak said that Black Friday will be the busiest shopping day of the year, the day after Christmas will be the second-busiest, followed by the Friday before Christmas.

New outlet mall bustling

Tanger Outlets in Daytona Beach has been open less than 10 days, and thousands took advantage of the mall's convenient location on Black Friday.

"It's a no-brainer to come today and get all the Christmas presents," Victoria Power of DeLand said.

Typically, Power and her group wake up early to hit the road, traveling a little over an hour to Orlando outlet malls. This year, they opted to skip the drive and visit Volusia County's only outlet mall.

"It's really nice, because we live right down the road, literally 10 minutes from here," Power said.

"The traffic isn't as bad as it is closer to Seminole or Orange County," Tonya Kinsella of DeLand said.

"It's convenient; it's closer to home," said Tabatha Phillips of Volusia County, as she carried bags of goods from she scored at Tanger.

For Power, the deals were as important as the location. This year, she said she scored.

"We've only been to about 30 percent of the stores. We aren't even halfway there yet. My husband is going to be freaked out," Power said, laughing.

— Bailey Myers, staff

Theme parks

At Universal Orlando Resort, a spokesperson said the park is not offering Black Friday deals this year. However, it has special vacation packages in effect.

For instance, if you want to experience the Volcano Bay water park (opening summer) and are planning a four-night stay, you can save $50, $75, or $100 depending on when you travel in 2017. (The later in the year you travel, the bigger the savings). You have until late April to book. Details are here: https://www.universalorlando.com/Vacation-Packages/Featured-Vacation-Packages.aspx

— Allison Walker Torres, staff


The National Retail Federation said that 59 percent of Americans will shop this weekend. That’s 137.4 million people, and it's up from last year. (Will Claggett, staff)