Bethany Sutton, 18, arrived at the Best Buy in Minnetonka at 7 p.m. Thanksgiving night. This morning she scored a deal on a TV. Sutton isn't the alone in her quest for that Black Friday bargain. According the National Retail Federation, 138 million people plan to shop this Black Friday weekend. That's up 2 million people from last year.

Joan Suko is the general manager at Minnetonka's Ridgedale Center. She said retailers are positive about the shopping season. "We've been seeing positive gains all year and we expect that to continue," she said.

Ridgedale Center has been open since midnight, when a handful of retailers opened their doors to shoppers. By 6 a.m. every store in the mall was open for business.

For Internet shoppers, retail outlets never close. This year stores used social media outlets like Facebook and twitter to advertise online and in-store specials. But according to Ridgedale shoppers, Diana Singleton and her son Josh, Black Friday is just as much about the experience as it is the deals.

"This is the only time we get the opportunity to be together. He will go with me. Then we go to breakfast. We make it a little morning," she said.

Her son added, "You can search online but there's no thrill of the hunt."

And according to Minnesota Retailers Association President, Brian Steinhoff the Singletons made the right move by coming into the mall.

"The best deals are typically in the stores. That's where they will find the best deals, the brick and mortar shops," he said.

Although Steinhoff is hopeful about the season's shopping numbers, he did say retailers have at least one hurdle to overcome this shopping season. Because Christmas falls on a Saturday this year, stores will lose an entire shopping weekend.

Another hurdle here in Minnetonka is the cold weather. The National Weather Service put wind chill temperatures between -10 and zero degrees through the night and this morning.

Kelly Contreras, general manager of the Minnetonka Best Buy blamed these single digit temperatures for a drop in shoppers. She said the line to get in the store this morning was the shortest it's been in four years.

But the bitter temperatures weren't enough to scare off Sutton. When asked if the cold weather gave her second thoughts about sitting outside all night, this self-described "true Minnesotan" simply replied, "not even for a second."