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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBlack Friday shopping crowds thin after Thanksgiving rush
(Reuters) - Mall crowds were relatively thin early on Black Friday in a sign of what has become the new normal in U.S. holiday shopping: the mad rush is happening the night of Thanksgiving and more consumers are picking up deals online.
Most major retailers now open their doors Thursday evening and offer extended holiday deals rather than limiting them to one day. The result is a quieter experience on what has traditionally been the busiest, and sometimes most chaotic, shopping day of the year.
"It just looks like any other weekend," said Angela Olivera, a 32-year old housewife shopping for children's clothing at the Westfarms Mall near Hartford, Connecticut. "The kind of crowds we usually see are missing and this is one of the biggest malls here. I think people are just not spending a lot."
The crowds normally reserved for Black Friday morning appeared Thursday night. Over 15,000 people lined up for the opening of the flagship store of Macy's Inc (M.N) in New York on Thursday, Chief Executive Officer Terry Lundgren told CNN. Police responded to a handful of incidents at Wal-Mart Stores (WMT.N) on Thursday, including to break up a fight over a Barbie doll in Los Angeles, CNN said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/28/us-usa-holidaysales-black-friday-idUSKCN0JC1GU20141128
msongs
(67,403 posts)Xipe Totec
(43,890 posts)Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)And it's my second Buy Nothing Day in a row--I started yesterday.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)I need some cookie cutters, embroidery floss and long underwear for my husband.
olddots
(10,237 posts)Have a fabbbbbbbbbulous day everyone .
Wella
(1,827 posts)It's not the 1% that are shopping today. It's the working and middle classes who are looking desperately for deals.
Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)call it Black Thursday now since they're starting before Friday.
QED
(2,747 posts)need milk. Can't believe I didn't realize I was so low. Hopefully, the grocery store won't be crazytown.
QuebecYank
(147 posts)The Brits now have Black Friday sales, whereas Canadian stores got in on the act around 3 years ago. Both countries did this, in order to stop their customers from traveling to the US.
Stargazer09
(2,132 posts)Didn't see any significant deals on the things I wanted to give as gifts, and there aren't any independent shops near me that carry what I wanted to give this year. So I shopped online, finished all of my holiday shopping, and saved myself a bunch of grief.
Shopping on Thanksgiving just seems stupid, but I guess it's here to stay.