Contrary to popular belief, the Friday after Thanksgiving is not the busiest shopping day of the year. Americans actually buy more in the days leading up to Christmas.

But Black Friday is one of the biggest “traffic” days of the year at shopping centers, as consumers, unburdened by work or the need to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner, head out to the mall just for the sake of getting out and doing something. And of course there are those doorbuster specials, too.

The good news if you are heading out on Friday is that we know more people will be out of town this year. But it’s not clear whether that will have any noticeable effect on the normally horrendous mall parking lot traffic.

Are you planning on joining the crowd?