Fewer Shoppers Flock To Stores For Black Friday, City Ramps Up for Small Business Saturday

Crowds at malls and stores in Los Angeles County Friday for Black Friday were smaller than in past years, which experts mainly attributed to the earlier start of Christmas shopping.

In Pasadena, officials with the city and Vist Pasadena geared up for a come-back Small Business Saturday, replete with a “From Pasadena, With Love” holiday shopping campaign offering prizes and swag 26 welcome stations.

That campaign promotes the City’s hundreds of small and independent businesses and runs through Dec. 24.

Old Pasadena touted its 125 independent businesses and lured shoppers with its “Only in Old Pas” promotions. Many Old Pasadena small businesses will offer fun promotions, giveaways, and the warm satisfaction of shopping and dining small, the Old Pasadena Management District said.

While Black Friday is considered the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season, it “stopped being a one-day event years ago, and this year some consumers started shopping for Christmas as early as Halloween,” said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association.

“Consumers are starting earlier than ever to be sure they can get what they want, when they want it, at a price they want to pay,” Shay said.

Other factors for the smaller crowds included online shopping, the coronavirus pandemic, uncertainty over the supply chain and rising prices.

Shoppers were pleased by the smaller crowds searching for Black Friday bargains.

“Black Friday used to be like Disneyland, waiting in line 45 minutes to spend money,” Westfield Santa Anita shopper Lawrence Caudillo told The Times. “I’d rather shoot myself in the foot than do that. So this, this is nice. I love when there’s not a lot of people around.”

There was a heightened police presence at malls and other shopping areas in response to recent “flash mob” thefts and smash-and-grab robberies.

“Yes, we do have resources deployed to deter and respond to such incidents,” Pasadena police Lt. William Grisafe told Pasadena Now.

A survey conducted for the National Retail Federation by Prosper Insights & Analytics found that 158.3 million people expected to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, compared to 156.6 million in 2020 and 165.3 million in 2019.

The survey found that clothing continued to top the list of what people plan to buy during Christmas shopping at 53%. Gift cards were second at 46%, followed by toys (39%), books/music/movies/video games (35%) and food/candy (31%).

The top toys for boys according to the survey were Legos; cars and trucks; Hot Wheels; PlayStation; video games; Nerf; “Paw Patrol” toys and products; remote-control cars; Xbox game systems and Pokemon.

Barbie dolls topped the girls’ list, followed by any doll and LOL Surprise! dolls. Legos were fourth, followed by Apple products and smartphones. American Girl dolls and baby dolls tied for sixth. Apparel and accessories tied for eighth with merchandise related to the Disney animated musical “Frozen.” Disney and Disney princess merchandise were 10th.