Trang Tran walked through the food court at Clackamas Town Center, sipping a soda as she reflected on her first Black Friday shopping experience. Coming to Portland from Vietnam a year ago, she had heard stories of chaotic crowds and aggressive bargain hunters.

People were eager to see stores' Black Friday discounts, often comparing them to rivals' prices for similar merchandise online. Weighing on the minds of many Americans: Should prices rise in 2025 as a result of Trump's move to implement new tariffs on some U.

The race is on to holiday shop this Black Friday, but even with inflation cooling, many across the country are striving to stretch their dollars. Meanwhile, Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer,

Here are the Black Friday store hours for some prominent national chains and Portland-area destinations. Best Buy stores will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Bridgeport Village shopping center in Tigard will be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Retailers used giveaways and big discounts to reward U.S. shoppers who ventured out for Black Friday even as earlier offers, the prospect of better bargains in the days ahead and the ease of e-commerce drained much of the excitement from the holiday shopping season's much-hyped kickoff.

Thousands of shoppers filled shopping centers on Friday, searching for the best sales even as the economy and inflation remains a big priority to many people.

The National Retail Federation expected 183.4 million people to shop in U.S. stores and online between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.

Wary of high prices, consumers plan to spend an average of $650 between Black Friday and Cyber Monday as retailers kick off the holiday shopping season.