Black Friday shoppers expected to break national records

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - In downtown Colorado Springs, small businesses like the beloved Terra Verde boutique downtown say they're counting on this year's holiday season to get them through.

"We are doing something we've never done before to try and drive some traffic downtown. We're doing 30% off everything in our store today for black Friday," Leah Fitzgerald-Riehl, with Terra Verde said.

She said that the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving were two of their biggest days during the year, and they needed the business after a slow year.

"In all of retail, especially for small businesses, we need people to come out for these for these days and support their local businesses," Fitzgerald-Riehl, with Terra Verde, said.

On Friday, malls, sidewalks, and stores were filled to the brim with excited shoppers.

"Pretty much everything is on sale," said Reese Laboy, one shopper.

A record 183.4 million people planned to shop either in-person or online through Thanksgiving into Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

The NRF reports 57% of shoppers plan to take part in the 5-day shopping shopping period because "the deals are too good to pass up."

At the Chapel Hills Mall, management says they anticipated 12,000 shoppers on Black Friday.

Deals and heavy crowds are expected to continue throughout the weekend. In Colorado Springs, city-owned parking garages, lots, and meters will be free continuing into Small Business Saturday.