This holiday weekend is expected to be a record-breaking one when it comes to shopping.
Approximately 166.3 million people are projected to shop between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, according to an annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics. That is almost 8 million more people than last year and the highest estimate since the NRF began tracking this data in 2017.
Those Black Friday bargains have also taken on more importance to some shoppers right now, after a year that hit wallets hard, with inflation at levels not seen in 40 years.
"I found some good ones, too. It's really good, everything's marked down so well, more than you think they would be," local shopper Grace Lynne Herrera told News 13 on Friday, Nov. 25. She said Black Friday shopping is a yearly tradition for her.
Not only was she shocked by the deals she found this year, but also by the crowds at the Asheville Outlets on Friday.
"I didn't think it was going to be this busy -- it's a little bit overwhelming because last year it wasn't this busy," Herrera said. "There is a big show-out this year for sure."
Some lines even formed outside popular stores at the Asheville Outlets.
"We wanted to go to Nike and there was such a line, we were like, 'We'll come back later because it's so long,'" said Victoire Van Houdt, a student at Western Carolina University.
For some consumers, the long weekend wasn't just spent looking for bargains for themselves, but for loved ones, too, with their sights now set on Christmas.
"Definitely doing some early Christmas shopping; got a couple shirts for my nephews," said Elyse Keefe, who was visiting family in Asheville. Keefe and her husband said their trip to the outlets on Friday was less about consumerism, though, and more about getting out and getting some steps in after a day of feasting with family.
"It's kind of nice to move around after eating all day yesterday," Keefe said.
According to the survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, more than two-thirds (69%) of holiday shoppers plan to shop during Thanksgiving weekend this year. The top reasons they plan to shop are because the deals are too good to pass up (59%), because of tradition (27%) or because it is something to do (22%) over the holiday.