Tanger Outlets see busy holiday weekend

A few days after the rush of Thanksgiving weekend, Amy Norgate, Tanger Outlets general manager, said the biggest shopping weekend of the year went very smoothly.

Opening up on Thursday evening releases some of the pressure on the really crazy crowds, she said Nov. 30.

"There was nothing unexpected, and our team was prepared," said Norgate, who was tasked with the overnight shift into Black Friday. "But when daylight hit on Friday, it was super busy."

Norgate said the traffic pattern for the weekend was nearly identical to last year, which included Saturday, the busiest day of the year for motorcoaches coming from New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.

Norgate estimated 13 buses came to the outlets from those major metropolitan areas.

"These shoppers, mostly women, are serious shoppers looking to take advantage of tax-free shopping," she said.

Confirming Norgate's strong showing, the National Retail Federation is reporting a rise in the number of consumers over 2015.

According to a Nov. 27 survey from the federation, which is the world's largest retail association, more than 154 million consumers shopped over Thanksgiving weekend, up from 151 million shoppers in 2015.

The federation said the average spending per person over the weekend totaled $289.19, down slightly from $299.60 in 2015. They estimated about 74 percent of the total purchases went toward gifts.

The survey found nearly three in 10 shoppers headed out after 10 a.m. on Black Friday, up from 24 percent last year, while less than 15 percent of consumers arrived to the stores by 6 a.m. Early Thanksgiving Day in-store shopping dropped by 19 percent, with only 7 percent of consumers heading to stores before 5 p.m., said the survey.

The survey found that of those who shopped in stores, 51 percent shopped at department stores, 34 percent at discount stores, 32 percent at electronics stores, 28 percent at clothing or accessories stores and 25 percent at grocery/supermarket stores.

According to the federation's survey, some of the most popular gifts purchased over the weekend included clothing or clothing accessories, toys, electronics, books, CDs, DVDs, videos, video games and gift cards.

Tolls in Delaware see increase in traffic

According to a Nov. 28 press release from the Delaware Department of Transportation, nearly 1.2 million vehicle trips were made through Delaware's tolls over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

This number represents an increase of about 33,000 vehicle trips over 2015 trips and about 243,000 over 2014.

Not surprisingly, a number of those motorists needed roadside assistance.

AAA Mid-Atlantic, which covers Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., said in a press release Nov. 28 they helped in the rescue of over 23,000 motorists across the club's five-state territory this past weekend. It's roughly on par with last year's figures, the release said.

The primary reasons for roadside service were dead batteries, flat tires and lock outs. According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, the highest number of rescues over the five-day period was Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving.

The day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 25, resulted in the second-highest volume, because, AAA officials report, travelers began the trek home, and shoppers headed to the stores for Black Friday deals.

"For many unfortunate motorists, the holiday weekend was a wake-up call that their car was not road-ready for long trips or even a jaunt to the mall," said Ragina Cooper Averella, AAA Mid-Atlantic public and government affairs manager.