Friday, November 28, 2025

Pasadena Shoppers Join Crowds Across Los Angeles County as Black Friday Begins

Shoppers in Pasadena will join crowds across Los Angeles County on Friday as Black Friday marks the start of the Christmas shopping season, even as sales promotions continued to begin earlier each year.

According to an annual survey released Nov. 20 by the National Retail Federation and conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 130.4 million people nationwide planned to shop in person or online Friday. That is part of a record 186.9 million expected to shop between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, surpassing the previous record of 183.4 million set in 2024.

The survey found 70% of holiday shoppers planned to shop in stores or online Friday. “Many Americans consider shopping to be an important part of their Thanksgiving holiday and one of the best ways to get deals on gifts,” Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategy for Prosper Insights & Analytics, said in a statement.

Clothing and accessories topped the list of planned purchases at 50%, followed by gift cards at 43% and toys at 32%.

For boys, Legos and Hot Wheels were the most popular toys for the fourth consecutive year, followed by cars, Nintendo products, trucks, PlayStation products, Nerf toys, video games, Pokémon items and Spider-Man-related merchandise. Remote-controlled cars, which ranked sixth in 2024, dropped out of the Top 10.

For girls, Barbie dolls and other dolls again led the list, followed by Legos, Labubu collectible plush toys, cosmetics and makeup, the Barbie Dreamhouse, items related to the animated film KPop Demon Hunters, stuffed animals, and baby dolls and clothes. Disney items, electronics and Squishmallows plush toys fell out of the Top 10 after ranking in 2024.