Black Friday shopping in full swing at Bay Area stores

LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) -- Black Friday shoppers have been lining up at the San Francisco Premium Outlets in Livermore. The stores were open through the night.

Analysts expect this to be a good holiday season for retailers; 164 million people say they intend to shop at some point during this five day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday. Black Friday is still the busiest with 115 million people planning to shop today.

RELATED: Here are the 10 stores with the biggest discounts for Black Friday

The jobless rate is at a 17 year low and consumer confidence is higher this holiday season. The National Retail Federation expects sales to rise at least 3.6 percent and online spending to go up 11 to 15-percent.

Although it's busy at the San Francisco Premium Outlets in Livermore, Amazon is the top destination for people to begin holiday shopping according to a study by market research firm NPD group. The online retail giant is expected to take half of the holiday season's sales growth.

Livermore police had a presence. They said there were no issues in the shopping area, but the holiday cheer was missing from some people trying to find a spot in the crowded parking lot.

For most people, their mission was accomplished, finding a good deal on little sleep.

Click here for more stories, photos and videos on Black Friday.