Fox 28: South Bend, Elkhart IN News, Weather, SportsMichiana shoppers line up for Black Friday sales

Michiana shoppers line up for Black Friday sales

It's the biggest shopping day of the year. Black Friday officially kicked off in Michiana.

Thousands of people set their alarm clocks back and decided to brave the cold and long lines.

"Is it worth being cold? I don't know. Well, I think if you can save money on your kid's gifts and stretch your budget, then you can get them more," says Todd Outrigger, hoping to find some deals on children's toys.

With so many recession-battered shoppers, retailers were shocked and a little overwhelmed with the turnout.

"With not having a job and being on unemployment, that's why I'm here," says Amanda Harradon, who was the first in line at Target. She says a few hours in the cold is worth it this holiday season.

"The good deals is the main reason I come out. I save hundreds of dollars doing this," says Connie Tomaszewski, a veteran Black Friday shopper. Connie says the lines seemed a little longer this year, but retailers made it worth her while.

"I was pretty orderly, so it wasn't bad this year. No one was pushing or shoving, so that was nice" says Tomaszewski.

 Several stores decided to open even earlier this year, hoping to lure in more customers. Toys R US changed their hours from five a.m. and opened at midnight instead. Old Navy opened it's doors at three a.m. Target changed it's hours for the first time. Instead of six, they opened at five a.m.

Retailers are banking on the fact that earlier hours and bigger sales will attract more customers this year. Target says it was worth setting the clock back an hour earlier, especially since electronics were the big tickets this year. Several of the big door buster sales sold out within just minutes.

"The 32 inch HDTV sold out right away, it barely lasted the first half hour," says Ryan Hartman, the Target team manager at the Mishawaka location.

While it's still too early to tell what kind of numbers Black Friday brought in, retailers say preliminary numbers are looking promising.