Rochester malls are still seeing big Black Friday crowds despite the cold and growing presence of online deals.
Mike Kauffman is the Manager of Eastview Mall and said they saw good crowds when they officially opened at 7am Friday morning.
"Those stores that really push that big few items, limited quantity, those are the ones that really have the lines waiting."
While trends seem to be headings towards a Thursday start to the shopping season, Kauffman says the mall is always officially closed on Thanksgiving although some stores were opened independently.
"For employees to spend time with their family. But that said, we also respect and appreciate that some retailers feels it’s very important to be open that day. So we accommodate them but we make it clear that the mall is closed and stores do not need to be open."
Some of the big Eastview stores, Like JCPenney and Lord & Taylor chose to open their doors on the holiday.
With online shopping increasingly becoming the more convenient shopping option, Kauffman says stores that highlight both their online and store front options will be the most successful.
Kauffman says sales for the mall this far are up 4% which is consistent with what they were seeing several years ago.
"Now they’re really integrating the two to try to drive business to both sides, and i think that’s the future of retail."
He says Eastview works closely with Ontario County sheriff and Mall security every year for Black Friday but there were no incidents to report from Friday morning.