BUFFALO, N.Y. - Black Friday marks the start of the busy holiday shopping season.
In the past, shoppers would head to Toys 'R' Us for gifts for the kids. However, this is the first year that was not an option, giving an extra economic boost to local toy stores.
"We've definitely had an increase in customers which has been great for us," said, Clayton's Toys Co-Owner, Kelli Klos.
Clayton's Toys is located on Main Street in Williamsville and has been in business for more than a century.
"It has been good for us and I do think a whole new group of people have been introduced to our store and it's certainly seems to be doing well for us," said Klos. "We've got a lot of new customers and a lot of those customers have become repeat customers."
Bloomsbury Lane Toy Shoppe is nestled at the corner of Central avenue and Main street in the village of Lancaster.
"We did expand our hours with them closing to offer better hours for the customers and we did increase our inventory and so I really believe we will notice a big difference in December," said owner, Crystal Newman.
Newman says that it is the costumer experience that differentiates them from the big box stores like Toys 'R' Us. The store offers free gift wrapping and hot chocolate for shoppers.
"Toys 'R' Us you got lost in and you would wander around aimlessly and it was overwhelming, so people are turning back to the old time neighborhood feel and we've really strived to continue that experience" said Newman.
Both stores say they are looking forward to a successful Small Business Saturday.
"I think tomorrow is gonna be significantly bigger as it usually is. We love that Buffalo in particular we think is a very support local kind of community which is fantastic," said Klos.