While Ellenton Premium Outlets saw its share of sale signs, crowds and packed parking lots on Black Friday 2017, the shopping day had a different feel thanks to many of the outlets offering deep discounts on Thursday evening.

  • Outlet mall still had steady stream of customers
  • Thanksgiving night "epic" for some retailers
  • Many stores extending deals throughout the weekend

The endless lines forming at the register bright and early the morning after Thanksgiving may be a thing of the past. More and more stores, including many of the outlets, opened Thanksgiving night, which brought shoppers in for big sales before Black Friday hit.

Heather Jarrard has been Black Friday shopping for more than a decade. This year, she started at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, and said she didn't encounter this traditional Black Friday crowds or winding checkout lines.
 
"Usually that was part of the experience," Jarrard said. "You're waiting in line, you're going through your circulars and your coupons and it was part of the fun! But not waiting in line was fun too."

 



Throughout the day on Friday at the Ellenton Premium Outlets, a steady stream of shoppers made their way through. Inside the doors of Swarovski, close to a dozen customers were taking a look at the crystal collections.

The store manager told us they've been steady with sales all day, but Thanksgiving night was a different story.
 
"Last night was epic -- just fantastic," said Swarovski store manager Jannett Reyes. "Great traffic with great coupons and conversion -- the customer was excited, but the crowd was cooperative. We just did phenomenal numbers."

The weekends of deals and discounts is really just beginning. Many retailers are extending their Black Friday deals to last all weekend long.