Brick-and-mortar retailers say they experienced their best Black Friday in years.
SHORT HILLS -- National forecasters and theorists may say that holiday shopping in brick-and-mortar stores is on the decline, but retailers say there was no evidence of that in New Jersey.
"We don't have traffic counters, but...in the 15 years I've been here, this was one of the busiest Black Fridays we've had," Mike McAvinue, the general manager of the Mall at Short Hills, said in a phone interview Monday.
The mall, he said, was busier this Black Friday than it was last year. Its 6,100-spot parking lot was filled to capacity by 10:30 a.m. - about two hours after the mall opened and two hours fewer than it took to fill up in 2014, he said.
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Other New Jersey malls reported similar experiences. In a statement Monday, Lisa Herrmann-Srednicki, a spokeswoman for the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus -- which anticipated 100,000 shoppers on Black Friday -- called the start to the mall's holiday shopping season "robust...We are looking forward to a healthy and merry retail season."
A spokesman for nine of the Simon-owned shopping centers in New Jersey said those malls were "just as crowded, if not more" than they were last year.
But national estimates say the Jersey retailers' experiences were an exception. ShopperTrak, a consumer analytics provider, estimated that shoppers across the country spent $12.1 billion on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a decrease from sales in 2014. In a preliminary estimate, ShopperTrak credited customers pre-shopping online with taking a bite out of in-person shopping.
Scott Rothbort, a business professor at Seton Hall University and founder of LakeView Asset Management, said online shopping is only one reason for what he called the "death of the American mall" in a recent article on consumer trends. Rothbort said lifestyle changes that have led to teens spending more time online and less hanging out in malls, the struggling nature of traditional mall anchor stores like JC Penney and Sears, and the growth in popularity of discount and outlet shopping centers have all contributed to the nationwide decline in mall shopping.
"Technology changed our lives," Rothbort said in a phone interview about his theory. "Shoppers are much more savvy than they used to be," he said, noting that shoppers are more likely to compare prices online than be tempted to head out the door to line up for "door buster" deals.
But, N.J. retailers said they see shoppers who choose to combine online and in-person techniques - by doing things like researching prices online but buying in person, or browsing online but doing quality-checks at stores.
This Black Friday, McAvinue said there was a perfect storm of low gas prices, nice weather, and good deals, to get people out shopping.
"There's a social aspect to it," he said of in-person shopping. "We had a lot of families, a lot of couples, who come out, get something to eat, (and) enjoy the holiday atmosphere...It was really nice to see."
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.