From Taylor Swift to Nike, Black Friday deals at Chicago area malls drew big crowds, long lines

For the last 15 years, Zac Paeth and Gene Walters have spent Black Friday under the weight of shopping bags. This year, they were spotted at Woodfield Mall walking out of the busy Lego store with yellow shopping bags filled with toys like the recently-released Nightmare Before Christmas set that’s been “selling out everywhere.”

Wearing matching Santa hats and holding Starbucks holiday cups, it’s a tradition for them to spend the day after Thanksgiving hunting down deals.

“I’ve done Black Friday shopping where I haven’t bought anything — just got out there for fun. My daughter’s here with her friends and we drive around and pick up three of her friends,” Walters said. “It feels like some of the specials are back this year … so sometimes, like I said, I’ll spend nothing, and then there’ll be times like this where I spend a lot.”

Chicagoans flocked to the neighboring malls and big-box chains for Black Friday to snag holiday deals and many took part in the tradition at 6 a.m., when most centers like Woodfield opened its doors.

“This is our superbowl,” said Emily Holdeman, assistant director of marketing at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. “I think it’s a tradition for [people]. I think it’s a fun thing to get their coffees; they get their energy drinks.”

Retailers like Best Buy, Amazon and Target have been pushing holiday deals for weeks, but Black Friday remains the biggest day of the year for retail foot traffic in the U.S., according to retail technology company Sensormatic Solutions.

“It’s important for them to be able to get shoppers into their store to show them that experience of what it’s like to browse and touch and feel items. It also can be a bellwether for retailers on what to expect for the rest of the holiday season,” Grant Gustafson, head of retail consulting and analytics at Sensormatic, said.

A record 183.4 million people plan to shop in stores and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, according to a survey released this month by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. That’s more than the previous record of 182 million people in 2023.

NRF previously forecast holiday sales in November and December to total $979.5 billion and $989 billion, growing between 2.5% and 3.5% year over year.

Separately, digital research firm Adobe expects overall U.S. online holiday sales to hit $240.8 billion, representing 8.4% growth over last year.

Christa Sowa, of Glen Ellyn, has passed on her enthusiasm for early morning shopping to her daughter, Liliana, 12, and even her daughter’s friend, Natalie Hauser, 11. The girls sported matching french braids.

“That is cute,” Christa Sowa said to Liliana Sowa, who was holding up a black kids T-shirt inside activewear shop Athleta. “Add it to the stack.”

The Sowas started regularly visiting Woodfield on Black Friday a few years ago as a way to get out of the house after the COVID-19 lockdowns lifted. When Christa Sowa briefly went next door to look at cheerleading uniforms at the Cheer Shoppe, Liliana Sowa and Hauser practiced TikTok dances in the mirror at Athleta.

“I grew up with Black Friday shopping. It was such a tradition to get up and go,” Christa Sowa said. “I came down at five this morning, and they were already up ready to go. … They’re at the age where they need independence and they want to come and look a little bit and explore, and so I feel comfortable with that here.”

While the 6 a.m. traffic was quiet heading into Woodfield, much of the parking lot was full by 9 a.m. and the mall was packed with shoppers.

Jewelry store Pandora normally draws long lines on Black Friday, Store Manager Patricia Cigarroa said, but it wasn’t as busy Friday.

“We actually started our Black Friday deals two weeks ago,” Cigarroa said. “[Shoppers] didn’t have to deal with getting up at six in the morning. That would be my guess. Otherwise, I can’t explain it. I geared up the store, and I have enough [staff] to take care of the typical traffic but they aren’t here.”

But some Pandora customers like Tanisha Thomas, 29, and Joe Alm, 24, were ready to shop there before 7 a.m.

Thomas has had her eye on a ring and was able to purchase it at the store. “Pandora is my go-to,” she said. “It’s easier to just buy it in person now and see what you want without having to return it or deal with shipping.”

Fourteen-year-old Brynn Skinner also prefers shopping in-store. She joined her friends at 5:30 a.m. for her first Black Friday experience after seeing TikTok videos advertising deals. “I don’t want to wait. I hate waiting for my packages,” Skinner said.

At the Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont, lines wrapped around stores with wait times of more than an hour. Polo Ralph Lauren touted a 50% off sale and had 100 people in line by 8:45 a.m. while the Nike store had about 50 people waiting in line. Other retailers like Converse were also offering deep discounts of up to 50% off.

Katie Walsh, senior marketing manager for Fashion Outlets of Chicago, said there were “tons of lines” prior to its 6 a.m. opening, with many outside stores like Gucci, Lululemon and Ugg.

DJ Lani Love spun tunes at the outlet mall, where roller skating dancers would later perform to keep the energy up during the long shopping day.

“A lot of our stores are offering exclusive Black Friday deals or outlet exclusive products that makes you really have to come here,” Walsh said. “The other thing too — the luxury stores don’t broadcast their Black Friday sales. So if you wanna know, you actually have to come here to see what it is.”

Meanwhile, big-box chains like Target drew in customers with exclusive deals and merchandise. The retailer was offering a book devoted to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and a bonus CD and vinyl edition of her “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” album that only will be available in stores on Black Friday before customers can buy them online starting Saturday.

Mari Flores, 18, is a big Swiftie fan but was thinking of her 29-year-old sister while shopping at the Harlem Irving Plaza Target in Norridge. She was purchasing the exclusive Taylor Swift CD as a gift.

“[My sister] collects the CDs,” Flores said. “I’m the one who collects the vinyls. We’ve gotten the Target collabs before, and I like collecting the different versions.”

Vicky Hernandez was in the toy section, clutching several Rainbow High dolls that were $10 off. She intends to add to her doll collection, but misses how Black Friday shopping “used to be” a decade ago.

“I think online shopping has changed it,” Hernandez said. “It’s not like it used to be. I enjoy the chaos. We used to go to witness the chaos, not necessarily to fight over the items.”

Contributing: Amy Yee and AP