In our spotlight on Biz Report.

It's Black Friday, and you know what that means.

Long lines of dedicated shoppers braving the crowds for those holiday deals.

But early this morning, shoppers at American Dream Mall got an unexpected surprise.

A bomb threat.

They received an alert on their phones telling them to evacuate the building.

That alert came from the New Jersey State Police that investigated the potential bomb threat and later gave the all clear for shoppers to return to their stores.

American Dream said in a statement that it was not a credible threat but evacuated the building out of an abundance of caution.

Over at Menlo Park Mall, it's been business as usual, complete with all the hustle and bustle that the day usually brings.

Raven Santana is there and has more.

I got clothes.

I got.

Some makeup.

That's literally it.

We was looking for like a pair of shoes that we could wear in the wintertime.

This is just the beginning.

Shoppers were out in full force this Black Friday at Menlo Park Mall in Edison.

The director of marketing and business development at the mall says that in part has to do with retailers pulling out all the stops to entice shoppers to skip online and shop in-person.

Express is 50 off, Zara's 40% off.

I mean, those are great deals that you can just go in, feel it, try it and then buy it.

We have some really great stores that you can't really find anywhere else.

I mean, we've got Mango, we've got Zara, we've got Dynamite.

Nordstrom's here.

So it's a one stop shop.

This shopping season comes at a time when people are feeling the effects of high inflation and interest rates.

And experts say shoppers this year will spend cautiously, which means some serious competition for retailers.

Sure, It's very much about a battle for the consumer spending.

There's a lot of retailers out there.

They all want to grab some of the dollars that people are spending, but there's probably not going to be quite enough to go around.

So retailers are going to have to work very hard to offer great discounts, great bargains, really entice consumers through the doors onto the websites and get them spending.

While many shoppers I spoke with admit the sales just aren't as good as they once were.

Many of them showed up as early as 6 a.m. whether it was by themselves or with family members to get the best deals.

Do you feel like the retailers are really trying to get people in the stores?

No, I think that they should.

Do like ten times more.

Is it the lines that can scare people off, you think?

Yes, definitely.

There's like lines going all the way from the entrance and that's definitely intimidating.

What's the longest line you waited on today?

Probably.

I want to say the food court.

According to the latest National Retail Federation annual survey, an estimated 182 million people are planning to shop in-store and online for Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year.

We call today Black Friday and Black Friday for some means rushing to Target or rushing to rushing to the mall.

But rush rush downtown and stroll and enjoy.

Enjoy the cheer.

Eileen Kane is the director of New Jersey's National Federation of Independent Business, the state's largest small business advocacy group.

She's reminding and encouraging all New Jerseyans to get out and support small businesses in the state.

There is sometimes a misconception that just because you're shopping local, you're going to be paying through sky high, through the roof.

And it's just not true.

And I like to put a little spin on why shopping local is so much more fun.

Just because you don't have the boxes and you don't have the returns and you don't have the stress of going to the store or going to the FedEx store and getting on that line and making those returns.

It really creates more of a a final experience that you wrapping the gift and it's done.

And I think it's more rewarding.

Mall management wants to remind everyone and stress that if you couldn't make it out today, those deals will continue throughout this weekend.

For NJ Spotlight News.

I'm Raven Santana.