Visited 2 Malls in California on Black Friday Filled With Shoppers, Teens

The “retail apocalypse” was nowhere to be seen at the popular Irvine Spectrum Center the morning of Black Friday.

When I arrived at the palm tree-lined Irvine Spectrum Center shortly before 8:30 a.m., I was greeted by a stream of cars scouring open parking spots.

And despite the relatively early hours, the mall was already bustling with people.

But there weren’t as many families or couples as I had expected.

And this young but powerful demographic seemed to dictate the number of customers inside each shop.

Stores like Nordstrom and Anthropologie were quiet with only a handful of shoppers.

But the same couldn’t be said for Lululemon.

Similarly, the lines just to get into Urban Outfitters and Swish Studios — a sneaker and streetwear shop — were almost a dozen people long …

… and consisted mostly of young shoppers.

Stores like Garage and Levi’s were also packed with these younger consumers.

But at this hour, some Gen Z-beloved brands like Brandy Melville, Tilly’s …

… Pacsun, Vans, and H&M were relatively quiet with only a handful of people filing in and out.

None of these stores had lines out the door yet.

But they all had belt barriers set up in anticipation for larger crowds later in the day.

To my surprise, Old Navy had a robust crowd with a long checkout line, although the age of customers here looked more varied.

I had no doubt the outdoor mall would be significantly more packed later in the day, likely with a more varied demographic.

But in the morning, Gen Zers looked like they were dominating the mall.

At South Coast Plaza, the largest luxury mall on the West Coast, the scene was somewhat similar.

Source: South Coast Plaza

… including high-end retailers like Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Hermes, and Chanel.

But when I arrived a few minutes past 9:30 a.m., only a handful of people, if any, were milling around these luxury stores.

It was quiet at the likes of Celine, Rolex, and Burberry.

This should be no surprise: Many premium brands don’t have Black Friday deals.

And high-income shoppers aren’t as impacted by inflation, which means there’s less urgency to hunt for discounts, Neil Saunders, GlobalData’s retail analyst, told Insider.

Instead, like the Irvine Spectrum Center, most of the crowds were centered around a handful of brands that target younger consumers.

The long checkout lines …

… disheveled displays …

… and general bustle at the mall’s Madewell and Zara looked busier than I’ve seen during normal retail hours.

Instead of teenagters, these stores were primarily filled with what looked to be late-Gen Zers and millennials, although the shoppers at South Coast Plaza often seem to skew older because of the number of luxury retailers.

Meanwhile, Aritzia was buzzing with customers waiting in a surprisingly long dressing room line.

And there were plenty of shoppers fluttering around Lacoste, Sephora …

… Bath and Body Works, Uniqlo, and Victoria’s Secret.