Black Friday shoppers flocked to stores, hoping to get more bags for their buck as they grapple with inflation, tariffs and anxiety about the health of the economy.
The Citadel Outlets in City of Commerce was mobbed Friday morning with long waits for parking and winding lines in front of stores as consumers tried to grab good deals. Camila Romero and her 13-year-old daughter spent hours in line trying to get the best possible deals on Ugg and Coach items on their wish lists.
“You come to the Citadel because it’s outlets. And it’s discounts on top of that,” she said. “So even when you’re broke, you don’t feel it.”
Shoppers across the Los Angeles area plan to spend less this holiday season, data show. Although retailers tease their biggest deals and prepare for what they hope is robust demand, a Deloitte survey found that L.A.-area consumers plan to spend 14% less over the holidays compared with last year.
Nationally, shoppers are expected to spend 10% less than last year.
Advertisement
Consumers are pulling back on spending in response to economic uncertainty and rising prices, said Rebecca Lohrey, a partner at Deloitte with expertise in retail and e-commerce.
“There is at least a perception of higher prices and higher costs of goods,” Lohrey said. “That is a concern for consumers across the board, and is one of the reasons they’re tightening their wallets a little bit.”
The survey found that 62% of shoppers in the L.A. area expect the economy to weaken in the year ahead, up from 34% in 2024. Around the same percentage of respondents said they are concerned about a potential recession in the next six months.
Across income groups, consumers are making cost-cutting trade-offs and putting more emphasis on finding the best deal, the data showed. More than half of the L.A.-area respondents said they would switch brands if their first choice was too expensive.
“It tends to be the lower income brackets or the middle income brackets that are the most likely to trade down,” said Collin Colburn, vice president of commerce and retail media at the Interactive Advertising Bureau. “This year, actually, everyone is trading down.”
Advertisement
Shoppers walk through the Citadel Outlets on Nov. 28, 2025, in City of Commerce.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
Camryn Smith and her daughter showed up to snoop around for the deals at the Americana at Brand in Glendale early Friday morning. The discounts help knock off some of the effect of inflation, she said.
“The prices are higher and they just bring them down to what they normally would be,” Smith said. “It’s crazy.”
Advertisement
Consumers are fatigued from continuous inflation and the instability brought on by the Trump administration. More shoppers are regifting or considering giving homemade gifts, the Deloitte survey found.
“We’ve been in an environment where prices continue to rise for a host of reasons, inflation being one, tariffs being another,” Colburn said. “I think when that happens year on year, it really drags on the consumer.”
This means more shoppers are looking for ways to save on purchases — and presents — they cannot put off.
The National Retail Federation predicts that a record number of Americans will shop the sales over Thanksgiving weekend. Retail sales in November and December are expected to grow between 3.7% and 4.2% compared with last year, the federation said.
Cautious consumers are more eager than ever to find a hot deal, said NRF’s Mark Mathews, its chief economist.
Advertisement
“People are changing the way that they spend,” he said. “They’re focusing more on stretching their dollar and getting value for the dollar.”
Even shoppers spending more than usual may be doing it out of concern, economists say. Consumers who anticipate inflation sometimes spend now out of fear that prices will rise later.
Brooklyn Farmer braved the crowds at the Citadel to shop and try to save amid inflation.
“People are struggling right now, but the holidays are still important to them,” he said. “The thinking is if there’s going to be discounts like this, I might as well go while I can, instead of spending more later.”
Of those surveyed by Deloitte in the L.A. area, 43% said they planned to spend most of their holiday budget at big-box retailers and 32% said they would spend the most at digital-first retailers.
Advertisement
Shoppers are using new tools to help them find products and deals, including artificial intelligence. Data collected by the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that AI now ranks as the second-most influential shopping source, ahead of retailers’ websites and apps and behind only search engines.
Nearly 90% of shoppers nationally said AI helps them find products they wouldn’t have found otherwise, according to the bureau’s data.
Mattel, the El Segundo-based toy company, is offering up to 50% off at Target on Hot Wheels, Barbie dolls and Disney Princess toys, said company spokesperson Kelly Powers.
“Mattel is working closely with retailers across the country on Black Friday deals,” Powers said.
In May, Mattel said it was considering raising its prices to offset the effect of President Trump’s tariffs on China.
Advertisement
On the October earnings call, however, the company said the full effect of tariffs won’t be seen until the fourth quarter.
Discount retailers that depend heavily on foot traffic have given conflicting signals about their businesses.
Walmart recently raised its sales forecast for the year after reporting a 6% year-over-year increase in revenue in the third quarter.
Target, in contrast, missed analyst expectations and reported a 1.5% decline in sales in the third quarter. On a call with analysts this month, Target Chief Executive Brian Cornell said the company “has not been performing up to its potential.”
Of course, for many shoppers Friday, the pilgrimage to splurge at the local mall was about more than saving.
Advertisement
Ericka Pentasuglia brought her daughter to the Americana at Brand at around 3 a.m. to be the first in line for a pop-up store selling Billie Eilish perfume. She thought it was important for her to pass down the tradition of Black Friday shopping.
“I do feel like it is dying a little bit,” Pentasuglia said. “The best thing is that you don’t lose a tradition, it continues to your children.”
The French government confirmed this week that it has granted citizenship to George and Amal Clooney — pictured on a London red carpet in October — and their 7-year-old twins.
Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Advertisement
Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images
One of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars is now officially a French citizen.
A French government bulletin published last weekend confirms that the country has granted citizenship to George Clooney, along with his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, and their 7-year-old twins.
The Clooneys — who hail from Lexington, Ky. and Beirut, Lebanon, respectively — bought an 18th-century estate in Provence, France in 2021. In an Esquire interview this October, the Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker described the French “farm” as their primary residence, a decision he said was made with their kids in mind.
Advertisement
“I was worried about raising our kids in LA, in the culture of Hollywood,” Clooney said. “I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life. France — they kind of don’t give a s*** about fame. I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”
In another interview on his recent Jay Kelly press tour, Clooney mentioned that his wife and kids speak perfect French, joking that they use it to insult him to his face while he still struggles to learn the language.
This week, after a French official raised questions of fairness, France’s Foreign Ministry explained that the Clooneys were eligible under a law that permits citizenship for foreign nationals who contribute to the country’s international influence and cultural outreach, The Associated Press reports.
The French government specifically cited the actor’s clout as a global movie star and the lawyer’s work with academic institutions and international organizations in France.
“They maintain strong personal, professional and family ties with our country,” the ministry added, per the AP. “Like many French citizens, we are delighted to welcome Georges and Amal Clooney into the national community.”
Advertisement
They aren’t the only ones celebrating. President Trump, who has a history of trading barbs with Clooney, welcomed the news by taking another dig at the actor.
In a New Year’s Eve Truth Social post, Trump called the couple “two of the worst political prognosticators of all time” and slammed Clooney for throwing his support behind then-Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election.
“Clooney got more publicity for politics than he did for his very few, and totally mediocre, movies,” wrote Trump, who himself has made cameos in several films over the years. “He wasn’t a movie star at all, he was just an average guy who complained, constantly, about common sense in politics. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Clooney responded the next day via a statement shared with outlets including Deadline and Variety.
“I totally agree with the current president,” Clooney said, before referencing the midterm elections later this year. “We have to make America great again. We’ll start in November.”
Advertisement
Clooney and Trump — once friendly — have long criticized each other
Clooney, a longtime activist and Democratic Party donor, has remained active in U.S. politics despite his overseas move.
In July 2024, he rocked the political establishment by publishing a New York Times op-ed urging then-President Joe Biden — for whom he had prominently fundraised just weeks prior — to drop his reelection bid to make way for another Democrat with better chances of taking the White House. A growing chorus of calls led to Biden’s withdrawal from the race by the end of that month.
In a December interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, Clooney said his decision to speak out on that and other issues generally comes down to “when I feel like no one else is gonna do it.”
“You’ll lose all of your clout if you fight every fight,” he added. “You have to pick the ones that you know well, that you’re well informed on, and that you have some say and you hope that that has at least some effect.”
Clooney has been a vocal critic of Trump throughout both of his terms, most recently on the topic of press freedoms during the actor’s Broadway portrayal of the late journalist Edward R. Murrow last spring.
Advertisement
And Trump has been similarly outspoken in his dislike of Clooney, including in an insult-laden Truth Social post — calling him a “fake movie actor” — after the publication of his New York Times op-ed.
In December, just days before this latest dust-up, Clooney shared in a Variety interview that he and Trump had been on good terms during the president’s reality television days. He said Trump used to call him often and once tried to help him get into a hospital to see a back surgeon.
“He’s a big goofball. Well, he was,” Clooney added. “That all changed.”
In the same Variety interview, Clooney — the son of longtime television anchor Nick Clooney — slammed CBS and ABC for abandoning their journalistic duty by paying to settle lawsuits with the Trump administration. He expressed concern about the current media landscape, particularly the direction of CBS News under its controversial new editor in chief, Bari Weiss.
Weiss responded by inviting Clooney to visit the CBS Broadcast Center to learn more about their work, in a written statement published in the New York Post on Tuesday. It began with “Bonjour, Mr. Clooney,” in a nod to the actor’s new milestone.
Advertisement
Clooney told NPR last month that he will continue to stand up for what he believes in, even if it means people who disagree with him decide not to see his movies.
“I don’t give up my right to freedom of speech because I have a Screen Actors Guild card,” he added. “The minute that I’m asked to just straight-up lie, then I’ve lost.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Kentucky health officials are warning the public of possible measles exposures in northern Kentucky earlier this week.
A post on the Kentucky Department for Public Health’s Facebook page said it “identified potential measles exposures in Grant County.” According to the post, the exposure was traced to “an unvaccinated, out-of-state traveler” who stayed at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Dry Ridge from Dec. 28-30.” That person also visited the Ark Encounter on Dec. 29.
Measles, a highly contagious respiratory virus, can cause serious health problems, especially in young children, according to the CDC’s website. The virus spreads through the air after someone infected coughs or sneezes. It can then linger for up to two hours after the infected person leaves.
The virus can also be spread if someone touches surfaces that an infected person has touched. Symptoms include a cough, runny nose and red eyes, followed by white spots that appear on the face and down the body. Two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine is the best protection against measles, according to health officials.
Advertisement
Contact your healthcare provider if you think you or someone in your family may have been exposed.
More Local News:
Here’s a look at who’s running and what’s at stake in Kentucky’s 2026 elections
Woman critical after shooting at American Legion post in Parkland early Thursday
Woman dies after shooting outside fast food restaurant in downtown Louisville near NuLu
Advertisement
Contract details reveal when Kentucky could seek repayment from BlueOval SK
Federal judge dismisses consent decree meant to spark police reform in Louisville
Dozens of vacancies raise safety concerns at Louisville Metro Corrections
Louisville doctors urge prevention as flu cases surge after the holidays
LMPD detective shared login to Flock camera system with DEA agent conducting immigration search
Every year around this time I present a “new names in the news” quiz. I’m going to give you some names that you’d probably never heard before 2025 but that were prominent in the news during the past 12 months. You tell me who or what they are.
1. Zohran Mamdani
2. Karoline Leavitt
3. Mark Carney
Advertisement
4. Robert Francis Prevost (hint: Chicago)
5. Jeffrey Goldberg (hint: The Atlantic)
6. Sanae Takaichi
7. Nameless raccoon, Hanover County, Virginia
Last week’s challenge
Last week’s challenge came from Joseph Young, of St. Cloud, Minn. Think of a two-syllable word in four letters. Add two letters in front and one letter behind to make a one-syllable word in seven letters. What words are these?
Advertisement
Challenge answer
Ague –> Plagued / Plagues / Leagues
Winner
Calvin Siemer of Henderson, Nev.
This week’s challenge
This week’s challenge is a numerical one from Ed Pegg Jr., who runs the website mathpuzzle.com. Take the nine digits — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. You can group some of them and add arithmetic operations to get 2011 like this: 1 + 23 ÷ 4 x 5 x 67 – 8 + 9. If you do these operations in order from left to right, you get 2011. Well, 2011 was 15 years ago. Can you group some of the digits and add arithmetic symbols in a different way to make 2026? The digits from 1 to 9 need to stay in that order. I know of two different solutions, but you need to find only one of them.
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, January 8 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.
