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Die-hard Shoppers Pack the Citadel for 27-Hour Shopping Marathon

Citadel Outlets' 27-hour Black Friday marathon drew dedicated, value-driven shoppers, generating a major Thanksgiving traffic surge and expanding the mall’s trade area through festive experiences and early store openings.

By 
Caroline Wu
December 16, 2025
Die-hard Shoppers Pack the Citadel for 27-Hour Shopping Marathon
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Key Takeaways
  • Citadel Outlets generated a strong Thanksgiving traffic surge, with 25% of all two-day visits occurring on the holiday despite limited hours.
  • Its 27-hour shopping marathon drew highly motivated, value-oriented shoppers, led by Melting Pot Families, Near-Urban Diverse Families, and City Hopefuls. 
  • Festive on-site experiences and early store openings further amplified the mall’s regional pull, contributing to a 266-mile trade area.

Thanksgiving Night Opening Drove Exceptional Traffic

Black Friday deals may now be spread throughout the month of November – but for the Citadel Outlet’s most passionate shoppers, nothing beats the rush of standing in line with thousands of other eager customers awaiting the chance to be the first to scoop up deals. This year, the mall opened on Thanksgiving night once again – and the foot-traffic data shows that shoppers responded. While most malls in California and across the country saw visits plunge on the holiday, Citadel Outlets experienced a significant surge in traffic, despite being open for only a limited window.

27-Hour Shopping Marathon Attracted Dedicated Shoppers

Citadel Outlet as a whole opened Thanksgiving evening at 8pm, with certain stores opening even earlier at 4pm or 6pm. Black Friday sale hours ran until 11pm on Friday, giving these marathon shoppers 27 hours of continuous shopping. People driving northbound on the 5 freeway post-Thanksgiving dinner would have come across lines of cars visible already waiting to get into the Citadel parking lot to get a start on holiday shopping and burn off that turkey by hitting their step count. Once there, exciting experiences awaited, such as a giant Christmas tree and a gingerbread man scavenger hunt.

A quarter of visits to the Citadel on Thursday/Friday actually took place on the Thursday of Thanksgiving itself.

Value Seekers & Younger Shoppers Led the Charge

Value seekers came out in abundance, led by Melting Pot Families, Near-Urban Diverse Families, and City Hopefuls per Spatial.ai’s Personalive.

Citadel Outlets Pulled From an Exceptionally Wide Trade Area

Angelenos were willing to come from afar, with the Citadel shoppers encompassing a whopping 255.5 mile trade area to score their deals on Black Friday alone. They say shopping is a marathon and it appears that for these dedicated customers, nothing beats the thrill of the chase when it comes to saving money.

Ultimately, Citadel Outlets’ Black Friday performance suggests that immersive experiences, extended hours, and a strong value proposition can still transform holiday shopping into a destination-worthy event.

For more data-driven retail insights, visit placer.ai/anchor

Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.  

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