DALLAS — Most major retailers in North Texas opted to stay closed on Thanksgiving. It resulted large swaths of empty parking lots.
Some retailers, like Best Buy, had barricades staged out front in anticipation of early Black Friday shoppers. Best Buy is scheduled to open its doors at 5 a.m.
Black Friday is generally the start of the holiday season. But a lot of retailers have already unveiled their holiday collections and savings as early as October. Those retailers plan on rolling over those deals into November.
The National Retail Federation estimates 166 million people are shopping between now and Cyber Monday. That's 8 million more people than last year.
Safety is also top of mind for law enforcement. Multiple police departments across North Texas have put out warnings against thieves. Collin County saw a rash of thefts and robberies occurring in parking lots in mid-November. The latest case is in Frisco, where a couple in a dark SUV stole jewelry off victims in two separate cases.
"The victims in these offenses have been predominantly South Asian women in their 50s and 60s walking in neighborhoods wearing visible jewelry," a statement from Frisco police reads. "Frisco police want to remind our citizens to be vigilant of their surroundings. When possible, walk with others, avoid wearing visible jewelry and maintain constant awareness when anyone unknown to them attempts to get within close proximity. If they see something suspicious, they should contact police to report it."
Also while inflation is slowing down, those everyday expenses like food, gas and rent are still high. According to ABC News, that means shoppers will have less disposable income to play with. There may be more people shopping this holiday season but they are buying less.