NEW YORK (AP) — After weeks of pushing early deals, retailers in the United States and some other countries tried to entice customers with promises of bigger discounts on Black Fridaythe sales event that still serves as the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season, even if it has lost some of its luster.

Department stores, shopping centers and merchants – large and small – see the next day Thanksgiving as a way to energize shoppers and to get them into physical stores at a time when many do most of their browsing and buying online.

According to retail technology company Sensormatic Solutions, so many consumers enjoy in-person shopping during the holidays that Black Friday remains the biggest day of the year for U.S. shoppers.

“Black Friday is still an incredibly important day for retailers,” said Grant Gustafson, head of retail consulting and analytics at Sensormatic. “It’s important for them to be able to attract customers to their store and give them that experience of what it’s like to browse, touch and feel items.”

At Macy’s Herald Square in Manhattan early Friday, a steady stream of shoppers found some shoes and handbags half off, special occasion dresses marked down 30% and the store’s luxury bedding brand 60% off.

Keressa Clark, 50, and her daughter Morghan, 27, who were visiting New York from Wilmington, North Carolina, arrived at 6:15 a.m. at the store that served as the setting for the 1947 Christmas movie “Miracle on 34th Street.”

“We don’t have a Macy’s where we come from. I’m actually shocked to see so many Black Friday deals because there’s so much stuff online,” said Morghan Clark.

Clark, who works as a nurse, said she felt better the economy due to President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming return to the White House, he plans to spend $2,000 this holiday season, about $500 more than a year ago.

She said she wouldn’t mind if prices were higher next year as a result of the tariffs on foreign-made goods Trump has promised to implement this. “Anything that can boost manufacturing in the U.S., I’m all for that,” Clark said.

In the US, analysts anticipate a solid holiday shopping season, although perhaps not as robust as that that of last yeardespite many shoppers being cautious with their discretionary spending the easing of inflation.

In many stores, the frenzied crowds of Black Friday’s past never returned after the coronavirus pandemic. Early Friday morning at a Walmart in Germantown, Maryland, only half the parking spaces were filled. Some customers returned items or did their regular shopping.

Bharatharaj Moruejsan, a 35-year-old software engineer, said he doesn’t normally shop on Black Friday but decided to check out the deals at Walmart because he was jet lagged after returning from a month-long family vacation to India. He scored an iPad for his 1-year-old daughter for $250, down from the original price tag of $370.

“That’s a good deal,” Moruejsan said.

Retailers are under even more pressure to bring in customers buy early and in bulk because there are five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.

Target had an exclusive book dedicated to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and a bonus edition of hers “The Department of Martyred Poets: The Anthology” album that was said to only be available in stores on Black Friday. Customers can buy them online from Saturday.

Best buy has introduced an extended version of the doorbuster, the temporary daily discounts that were popular for years and sometimes led to fights. The nation’s largest consumer electronics chain has released doorbuster deals every Friday since Nov. 8 and plans to continue the weekly promotion through Dec. 20.

Impulse buying and self-gifting were potential areas for big sales growth, said Marshal Cohen, chief retail consultant at market research firm Circana. Research by Circana shows that shoppers are three times more likely to buy impulsively in a physical store than online.

Tara Rutherford, 53, headed straight to Macy’s Herald Square to shop for herself after finishing her overnight nursing shift at a Manhattan hospital. Rutherford, a newlywed, said she rarely shops on Black Friday because of her work schedule, but she “felt festive.”

“This is all about me,” she said, looking at boots at a 40% discount.

Black Friday is no longer just an American holiday event. Retailers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom also appealed to holiday shoppers looking to save money.

In India, approximately 200 Amazon warehouse workers and delivery driversgathered in New Delhi on Friday, some wearing masks Amazon chef Jeff Bezos, to demand better wages and working conditions. Similar protests were planned in other countries.

Camilla Bjorkqvist, 48, and her friend Tessa Goosens, 48, were visiting New York from the Netherlands to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with friends and shopping at Macy’s. Although Black Friday has become a commercial event in the Netherlands, the women said it is not the same.

“Macy’s is special. It is iconic,” says Goosens, who bought a Samsonite suitcase and a suit for work on sale.

The National Retail Federation predicted shoppers would increase their expenses in November and December by between 2.5% and 3.5% compared to the same period a year ago.

Vivek Pandya, the chief analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said greater consumer interest in bargain hunting this year would determine what sells and when.

For example, according to Adobe’s analysis, Thanksgiving is the best time to shop online and get the biggest discounts on sporting goods, toys, furniture and appliances. But Black Friday is the best time for that buy TVs online. People who bought TV earlier this season found discounts averaging 10.8%, while waiting until Friday is expected to yield 24% discounts, according to Adobe Digital Insights.

However, Cyber ​​Monday is expected to be the best time to buy clothes and gadgets such as phones and computers online.

Across the board, Black Friday weekend discounts should peak at 30% on Cyber ​​Monday and then drop to around 15%, according to Adobe research.

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Hadero reported from Germantown, Maryland.