Black Friday shoppers get up early to get deals

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (WLS) -- Shoppers got up early on Black Friday to score deals on gifts for the holidays.

Thousands packed the Fashion Outlet of Chicago in Rosemont on Friday.

"It's very treacherous, you have to have a game plan and you have to be focused so you can work through all the lines and all the crowds," said Lisa Mjaske, a shopper.

"Me and my friends went to about 23 stores by now," said Isabella Benza, another shopper.

Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg saw its peak at about midnight.

"That was definitely the heat of it. Parking was terrible!" said Black Friday shopper Hanna Inmon.

But shoppers were still going strong well into the day. Regular Black Friday shoppers like George Daumen will tell you the lines have thinned a little.

"We've been coming here about 10 years in a row now," Daumen said. "I'm so used to this being jammed right at 6:30, 7 o'clock."

Internet sales are in part to blame. Plenty of shoppers said they are planning to do both.

Still, shoppers her have their reasons for hitting the stores in person.

"I don't have a credit card, so it's kind of hard for me to online shop," said Black Friday shopper Grace Hammond.

"When else are your parents voluntarily allowing you to go out at 3 a.m.," said Shirmer.

Or more sentimental reasons.

"It's also the camaraderie of it that you feel, you see Santa you see the decorations and everything. It's kind of fun!" said Daumen.

About 164 million Americans will be shopping the sales this holiday weekend and on Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation. Online shopping beat out the brick and mortar stores last year and it's expected to happen again this year.

Still surveys show that shoppers are feeling more confident about their finances.

AAA's Consumer Pulse survey found that nearly one in four Illinois shoppers in particular said they were ready to spend more this holiday season.