Capital Region shoppers kick into high gear for Black Friday

SARATOGA SPRINGS – At 5 a.m. Friday, the streets of Saratoga Springs looked empty, but inside the stores, shoppers were busy.

"It’s just the best sale of the year. It’s like a cultural thing, too. We like waking up early, rolling out of bed, and just like rushing here and buying everything that you’ve wanted the last month," said Tori Torrisi.

She and her family were out shopping local at Yellow Boutique.

This is the boutique’s 11th year participating in Black Friday Saratoga. It’s an annual event put on by Network Saratoga to encourage supporting local businesses.

"Getting through the pandemic was pretty difficult, I think, for a lot of businesses, but the community was really strong and they were very supportive," said owner Emily Davis. She says last year, they did only online sales for Black Friday. This year, she hopes people seize the importance of shopping local.

Learn about how she says a small store like hers can provide a very different experience than a mall by watching the video of Emily De Vito’s story.