CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — Black Friday is a staple of Thanksgiving weekend. Shoppers woke from their turkey-day food comas and made their way to the Walden Galleria in search of sales.

"I'm gonna be looking for a speaker bar for our TV because our last one recently took a dive on us," said Lancaster resident, Robert Stevens.

"This is the first time we've come to the Buffalo mall, but shopping for Black Friday is something we do every year," said Rochester resident, Eric Bennett.

"I love the Galleria Mall, lots of sales, coffee in the air, don't you smell the Tim Hortons?" said Buffalo resident, Kimberlee Wiggins.

In the early morning hours, as stores were primed and ready with deals, crowds paled in comparison to years past.

"There's been times where it's a riot. I'm glad it's not like that here right now," said Buffalo resident, James Pritchett.

"The early morning rush has gone down so I think this is a great time for shoppers to come out and get good deals," said Wiggins. 

While some were just happy to take advantage others pondered what's caused the shift in people's Black Friday strategies.

"They start the deals on Thursday so people will scarf up their food and they'll do shopping on Thursday so the Black Friday list of people kind of shrinks," said Bennett.

"A friend was like 'I'm not getting out in those crowds, I'm cyber shopping, it sucks, I'm not going out in the store,'" said Wiggins. 

Despite the change in trends, crowds increased as the day progressed and shoppers came with friends and family to take advantage of low prices and get ready for the holidays.

"Especially for college students like us when you don't have a surplus of money it's good to get the deals," said Orchard Park resident, Jarrod Merkel.

"Come out early grab a coffee come look at some good deals and hopefully get some things for your family and friends," said Orchard Park resident, Dylan Fanaro. 

'Tis the season to be frugal shoppers whether in store or on line.