Black Friday shoppers had a new experience this year -- not so many crowded lines compared to years before.

Black Friday is a day notorious for long lines, crowds and frenzied shoppers, but this year was different.

"Pretty lax this year actually, I think. Pretty slow. I was surprised," said Black Friday shopper Marisa Rivera.

"Really, really mellow. No big crowds. We did Target and Walmart and all the big stuff last night and all the people are super polite," said Black Friday shopper Whitney Tanner.

Some stores opened with Black Friday deals on Thursday and workers noticed a difference.

"It's a little bit slower than yesterday and I think we were kind of expecting it with all the big deals yesterday and opening earlier on Thanksgiving," said Apricot Lane employee Allison Glass.

Store employees told us they still expect a steady stream of customers throughout the day, just on a slower pace, which shoppers noticed.

"Everything was broken down more, people kind of spread out, there's no big rush to get to big deals; big deals are everywhere," said Tanner.

And deals are what they are finding.

"Last night we got a lot of deals, on TVs and all kinds of stuff," said Tanner.

While the savings are important, for many, Black Friday has also become a holiday tradition.

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