Shoppers looking to get a jump on Black Friday specials hit stores across the country and area last night, but it looks like a lot of people prefer to find their bargains online. The president of Customer Growth Partners says so far the crowds at brick-and-mortar stores are "good but not great."
The retail consultancy watched customer traffic in different parts of the country. Meanwhile, the number of people shopping from home on Thanksgiving is on the rise. Adobe Digital Index reports shoppers spent more than one-billion dollars online Thursday. That's 22-percent more than last year.
Analysts expect as much as 20-percent of holiday shopping will be done over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Illinois retailers are hoping to get a big boost in sales this weekend with Small Business Saturday. The annual shopping day is now part of the annual holiday shopping experience across the Prairie State and the rest of the nation.
It appears many deals can be found on a Facebook page called "Small Business Saturday Central Illinois."