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.

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.”

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.”

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.”