Methodology

24/7 Wall St. identified the best places to shop on Black Friday by compiling a list of shopping malls, centers, and outlets per state primarily based on their gross leasable area (GLA). These places are most likely to offer the largest variety of products, the most parking spaces, employ the most retail associates, and claim to have the best deals for the holiday season. Findings on available stores per mall are based on company and industry websites that provide a number and size for the shopping centers written about for this story.

For those choosing to shop at places other than shopping centers, 24/7 Wall St. also created a list of  non-mall alternatives such as shopping in a city’s downtown core. Many of these non-mall destinations participate in Small Business Saturday, an event intended to support local businesses that is held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.