Foot Traffic Slow to Build on Black Friday

Shoppers were expected to turn out in record numbers to shop for Black Friday deals, particularly as concerns of COVID-19 have subsided. However, with inclement weather in parts of the country, thin crowds were seen outside stores on what has historically been the busiest shopping day of the year.

At Times Square in New York City, which was cloudy with occasional light rain, employees were seen waiting inside stores for crowds that so far had not arrived. Outside the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, there were no lines outside stores. A ToysRUS employee was seen walking around the mall handing out flyers with a list of the Black Friday door busters.

"Only about 20 people have come through self-checkout, so far," said Jimena Silva, a Target employee in Raleigh, North Carolina, which witnessed heavy rains between 6am and 8am on Friday.

However, with deals to be had, retailers are expecting store traffic levels to increase throughout the day and into the holiday weekend.