Thousands of New Jersey residents flock to malls for Black Friday deals

Thousands of New Jersey residents took advantage of Black Friday deals.

The Menlo Park Mall was bustling all day. With doors opening on Friday morning, stores were ready and shoppers flocked in to check out the deals and discounts.

“We expected it to be very busy, traffic was very heavy today,” said Prim Prasapairin, director of marketing and business development at Menlo Park Mall.

Even before you entered the shopping center, there was a lot of activity. Cars snaked around the building.

“Pretty bad, about 15 minutes to find parking,” said one shopper.

“When we came in here, the parking was absolute madness. It took us almost 30 minutes to park but that’s to be expected,” said another shopper.

The rush inside continued and the action didn’t stop throughout the day.

“Extremely busy. All the buyers are lining up and getting offers,” Prasapairin said.

“I’m just looking for gifts and trying to start early,” said one shopper.

And while the doors at the mall opened at 6 a.m., preparations began before then.

“(Every retailer) was preparing late last night,” Prasapairin said.

Some retailers are continuing their holiday sales into the weekend before going live for Cyber ​​Monday. People will continue to shop for certain items online.

“We find that the consumer does both, they complement each other,” Prasapairin said.

While there may have been some chaos at the scene, people told News 12 it was what they expected.

“I know it’s always going to be busy around the holidays with Christmas shopping and gift shopping,” one shopper said.

People told News 12 they stayed at the mall for hours. The parking lot remained full throughout the evening.

News 12 New Jersey’s Tony Caputo was at the mall to see what deals shoppers were able to score.