LOS ANGELES-The addition of Thanksgiving evening shopping at the start of this holiday season increased retail foot traffic over last year, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Retail CEO and president Greg Maloney. The uptick bodes well for holiday sales this season, which is predicted to have a sales increase of 4%.

Overall for Thursday and Friday, foot traffic in JLL retail centers throughout the country was up 25% this year. Centers experienced heavy traffic on Thursday evening between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m., similar to the typical 5 a.m. rush on Black Friday, which was much slower this year. “Really what we did was shift that 5 a.m. shopper to the Thanksgiving shopper between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m.,” Maloney tells GlobeSt.com. “Traffic was way above expectation.”

Bargains are the main driver of Black Friday, and now Thanksgiving Thursday, sales. Although traffic had increased by about 25% this year, Maloney points out that dollar sales showed a slight decrease from last year. “That tells you that there were a lot more bargains this year than last year.” In terms of geographic region, Maloney notes that coastal cities, like California, experience the strongest sales. As for product type, “luxury and value is king. They are the ones leading the way,” he explains.