TEMPE, Ariz. — It's the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season with Black Friday deals happening all over the Valley.
At Tempe Marketplace, people spent the morning getting their holiday shopping done for their friends and family. Some even got a few gifts for themselves-- like Edgar Schmidt.
"I've saved at least $100 to $200," Schmidt said.
Despite high interest rates and inflation, the National Retail Federation estimates 2023 will break records for the amount of money that will be spent for holiday shopping. It also estimates the average shopper will spent about $875 this season.
But most of that shopping will not be done in-person on Black Friday this year. A study by Drive Research showed people are more than twice as likely to shop Black Friday deals online in 2023 and 82% of people plan to do their holiday shopping during the Cyber Monday week.
More shoppers are expected to get out to the stores in-person on Small Business Saturday than on Black Friday in 2023, the study showed.
Those numbers seemed to ring true in the Valley on Friday. Even while stores had several discounts on products, that didn't convince too many people to get out of bed early and head to the shops.
“It's probably the least busiest we've ever seen it,” said Maria Ryan.
At Best Buy, a hotspot for Black Friday shopping with their door buster deals, customers were able to park very close to the front of the store.
"When I was pulling in the complex I was tripping out a little bit because, it's like when I was growing up, you know, it'd be a madhouse," Eric Cavalla said.
Others, like Austin Schafer, decided to walk to the store because he thought it would be packed.
"The checkout lines are like, empty," Schaffer said.
As the day went on, more crowds showed up to get their wish lists completed.
While this may not have the crowds big-box stores wanted to see, for local shops like Tempe Camera, it was great.
"The parking lot was full when I drove in,” said Joseph Wojcich, Tempe Camera's president.
The shop has been around since 1986 and Wojcich said it's one of two camera shops that remain in the Valley.
With current sales going on, he said they are making seven times as much this Black Friday than they would on a typical day.
“We've been lucky,” Wojcich said.
For a lot of shops like his, it's this time of year that can make or break business.
“Christmas is live or die," he said.
Wojcich hopes that this will be the start of a very busy and successful season.