Black Friday shoppers say 2021 unique in many ways

NORFOLK -- Amid supply and labor shortages, having more stores open, and sales being spread throughout November -- Norfolk shoppers took away different impressions of this year's Black Friday.

"There's a lot more people, every store has more," said Carter Anson of Newman, who was shopping for skateboards at Sunset Plaza Mall in Norfolk. Having browsed the mall with his friends, he noted there were less stores open back in 2020. 

Analysts estimate more than 100 million Americans would shop this Black Friday, and saw that number exceed to at least 100.6 million --  a record high as the holiday sales return from pandemic stagnation. (Another record 190 million shopped online.)

"Consumers are healthy, $4 trillion in savings on the sidelines," said Matthew Shay, CEO and President, National Retail Federation.

Indeed, after a year of pandemic regulations keeping shoppers inside, this year people told NCN it's different not just because of how busy it is -- but because attitudes seem different, too.

"I like that the sales were more spread out than last year, like it's not as crazy," said Jamie Beaudette of Plainview, who was shopping for Christmas gifts for her kids. Beaudette noted that she saw less shoving and rude behavior during her annual Christmas gift haul this go-around. Even more shoppers seconded that sentiment to NCN. Perhaps it could be a sign of a change in culture; or, a sign that Norfolk Black Friday shopping is still not matching pre-pandemic levels.

Of course, supply chain shortages weighed heavily on this. 

"Everything seems to be really hard to find lately," said Katherine Meuret of Norfolk. She said the shelves seem more bare to her than other years she shops on Black Friday.

There's still Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday; but analysts recommend buyers get all online shopping done before December 10. Forbes savings analysts explain that all online offers should be noted as "in stock"  if you want it to be delivered before Christmas.