Crowds still strong late Black Friday

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Shopping crowds are thinning Friday early evening, compared to the gaggles of shoppers lined up early Friday morning, awaiting those doorbuster deals.  Although the true Black Friday shoppers are still going strong.

Shopping centers around Albuquerque have been busy all day with shoppers who’ve been out shopping for deals since early Friday morning.

The National Retail Federation estimates holiday sales will increase 4.1 percent this year over last year.  A great gift for retailers who depend on Black Friday sales to make it through the rest of the year.

Nationally retailers are expected to pull in about $11 billion on Black Friday alone.

Black Friday shopping at ABQ Uptown is a little different than at the other Albuquerque malls.

Instead of long lines and a rush of people for door-buster deals, ABQ Uptown is expecting a steady stream of shoppers now and through the weekend.

That is how long most of the big sales will last.

Parking certainly was hard to come by this afternoon and stores like Apple saw the crowds.

A mall manager couldn't give us specific numbers, but she says they are seeing a positive trend in sales.

Stores at ABQ usually open at 10 a.m., but Friday they were open by 8 a.m. with some starting as early as midnight.

That is a first for ABQ Uptown.

The crowd varied from experienced Black Friday shoppers to newbies just taking it all in.

“We just came out to experience the Black Friday rush,” says Candyce Choi. “If there's a deal we'll snag it, otherwise no big deal.”

“This is round three,” says Andrea Sanchez. “I started last night at 8 p.m.”