SOUTH PORTLAND — The Maine Mall opened at 8 a.m. for Black Friday. By 8:01 a.m., its walkways teemed with deal-hunters.

Though early-morning attendance was steady, it was far from shoulder-to-shoulder traffic. Some shoppers remarked that the crowd seemed smaller than in years past, when people would line up early to lock in the best deals.

“I feel like there’s way less people actually going out to shop,” said 13-year-old Lennon Smart-Dennon. “I feel like everyone’s doing it online now.”

Her mother and grandmother nodded in agreement. Still, by 8:05 a.m., they already carried bulky bags.

Asked why the trio opted for in-person shopping, Barbie Smart, the teenager’s mother, had just one word: “tradition.”

As the holiday shopping season grows wider, and as more deals move online, that sense of ritual — the idea that Black Friday is inherently distinctive — is a key draw for brick-and-mortar stores, said Curtis Picard, president of the Retail Association of Maine.

“There’s the tradition of it: it’s Black Friday, you hear about all the sales,” Picard said. “But you’ve been hearing about those sales and deals for weeks now. … We’re no longer picking up a newspaper on Thanksgiving Day and looking at all the flyers anymore.”

Speaking ahead of Thanksgiving, Picard said Maine’s retailers were anticipating a strong Black Friday weekend. He added that in-person demand generally ratchets up in December, as shoppers attempt to make sure they have gifts in-hand — not in the mail.

This year’s holiday season comes as Mainers, and Americans in general, face heightened economic uncertainty, driven in part by steady inflation and tariffs on a range imports.

Consumer confidence hit its lowest point since April this month, according to a new report by the Conference Board, with survey respondents expressing concerns over current and future market conditions. Several analysts and industry groups predict that Americans will spend less this year than last year on average, but they differ on how big a drop to expect. Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation predicts overall holiday spending will top $1 trillion for the first time.

Erin P. Carter, a University of Maine professor who studies consumer behavior and marketing, said broad economic anxiety can make some people more sensitive to sales, but individual shoppers’ behavior is difficult to predict.

“In general, we know that when people feel uncertain, they tend to behave in ways that are maybe more easily influenced by the marketing practices that you see around the holidays,” she said. “At a really fundamental level, Black Friday sales — old and new — are trying to leverage what happens when people feel something is scarce.”

A feeling of scarcity is exactly what coaxed Kennebunk resident Kyle Kalbhenn, who generally prefers shopping virtually, to the South Portland Target.

Kalbhenn emerged from the store before 9 a.m., carrying boxes of Pokemon cards that he planned to split between himself and his children. He held up one of the packages: a limited-edition set that the retailer was not selling online.

“I’m not a Black Friday shopper in general. (But) I know these are hot and hard to get for the kids,” he said. “Otherwise, I just online-shop for everything else.”

But there were still some shoppers for whom the unofficial holiday is all about the savings.

Amanda Seely drove from New Brunswick to polish off her holiday shopping in Maine, leveraging the sales and favorable currency exchange rate. Seely and three friends — all staying for the weekend — pushed carts brimming with toys, clothing and snacks to their rental car.

“We have lists,” she said. “We plan them all year long.”

This year marks the group’s fourth visit for Black Friday, and Seely said the sales seem a little cooler than in the past, though there are still compelling deals. Laura Marr, another woman in the group, said she increasingly compares in-store prices against online retailers like Amazon to make sure the deals are actually as good as they seem.

Carter, the UMaine professor, said that sort of cross-referencing is increasingly common. Generally, the less familiar a buyer is with a product, the more easily they can be convinced any deal is good, she said.

“If you don’t know what a good price is for that particular thing, then all (retailers) have to do is increase their prices in the weeks leading up to that and then present it on Black Friday as 40% off,” Carter said. “You’ll have a really difficult time figuring out on the fly, either in person or online, without some kind of third-party help, or without spending a whole bunch of time and effort.”