Black Friday shoppers flocked to Pittsburgh-area malls throughout the day in search of holiday shopping deals.South Hills Village opened its doors Black Friday morning at 6 a.m."It really took a step back to allow us to get back to the Black Friday tradition, because before it was more extended over a period, so now people are excited again, they're coming out in droves," said Shema Krinsky, area marketing director for Simon Properties.Krinsky said many retailers kicked off their deals days ago to give people extra time.For several stores in South Hills Village, lines of shoppers formed as stores hit capacity."It's a tradition. People map out their Black Friday plans. They know what stores they are going to, what deals are going to get, and it's exciting," Krinsky said. "People crave that connection, and they want to come out, and they want to connect with their families and get together, and kind of create new memories."At The Mall at Robinson, a group of friends shared their Black Friday traditions with Pittsburgh's Action News 4."We start in Butler, go to Grove City outlets, Cranberry, Ross Park Mall every year," Merissa Stivason said.This year, many malls closed for Thanksgiving but opened early Friday morning."We are usually out 12 to 15 hours on Black Friday," Kelly Ruggles said.Brianna Stivason showed up for the Black Friday tradition in costume this year."This is something new, and so far, we've gotten good results, so I might continue this tradition now," Stivason said.