2021 Black Friday features slower pace than pre-pandemic years

Still, shoppers hit area stores on Black Friday morning, just not in the masses of previous years.

The second Black Friday during the COVID-19 pandemic left open parking spots that required only short walks through the biting wind and occasional snowflake. But customers still emerged from stores carrying their purchases. 

At Richmond Mall, a line formed outside Bath & Body Works, waiting for room inside the store to shop the annual "Buy 3, Get 3 Free" sale. Nearby, another line formed at the checkout register inside Dunham's.

Outside Hobby Lobby, customers carried bags of purchases out the doors and to their vehicles. Some customers stopped on their way inside to donate at the Salvation Army's red kettle.