Business & Tech
Record Number of Shoppers Flock to Tanger for Black Friday
General Manager Janine Nebons said about 60,000 people came to the retail outlets on Black Friday. She credited an earlier start to sales on Thanksgiving with drawing more people.
A record-breaking 60,000 shoppers flooded into late Thanksgiving and early on Black Friday, according to officials at the center.
Janine Nebons, General Manager of Tanger Outlets, said Tanger counted more than 36,000 cars in the parking lots from 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving night to the stores closing on Friday evening, translating to about 60,000 shoppers.
Unlike last year's midnight opening, . Nebons said the earlier start helped draw about 9 percent more cars than last year, adding that parking lots not only at Tanger, but at additional lots nearby, were filled to capacity.
Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.
"We packed out the Racetrack, we packed out Tanger, we packed out both sides of County Route 58," she said.
Opening earlier also made things safer for shoppers, Nebons said.
Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.
"The stores opening earlier this year was actually better from a public safety standpoint," she said. "There's a better flow on those busy days."
Nebons said the crowd was a diverse group of mostly young people under 30 who snapped up deals on apparel and footwear. The few electronic stores in the Outlet Center were busy for most of the weekend as well, she said.
"I think Sony was selling a TV every six minutes," Nebons added.
Nebons said by Saturday and Sunday, the out-of-town crowds had left, though traffic was still up slightly from last year as local buyers cashed in on the deals.
"It was a very traditional Thanksgiving weekend for us here," she said.
Nebons said the record Black Friday traffic continues a trend of higher-than-usual traffic at Tanger this year since Veterans Day weekend.
"We had an extraordinary Veterans Day," she said. "The weather has been on our side and that makes a huge difference." She added that though Black Friday came and went, most shoppers haven't started buying gifts for family and friends yet.
"There was a lot of people buying for themselves [this past weekend]," Nebons said. "We won't see the gift-giving until later. The next two weeks will be quiet, but it will start to pick up soon."
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
