Big stores report big sales on Black Friday

One demonstrator, Frank Chapman, 73, said the confirms what activists have said for years about Chicago police brutality. MASTERCARD SPENDINGPULSE SURVEY MasterCard Advisors will publish its report of Black Friday sales next week. Inside the stores, live feeds at checkout lines monitor for interruptions.

There was no repeat of last year's Black Friday madness at Blackpool supermarkets. Because retailers know that click-and-collect customers are profitable (they spend £50 more than others, actually, according to CACI research), the smart ones are investing a lot here, so be on the lookout. At the CambridgeSide Galleria, shoppers began lining up on Thursday for the midnight opening, hoping to snag such deals as $2,000 off a 65-inch LG Ultra high-definition television at BestBuy, $200 off Apple MacBook computers, and $60 off a Panasonic Streaming Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player, said Melissa LaVita, senior marketing director of the mall.

The impact of the two day sales period, called "Black Friday" because massive sales give a big profit boost to retailers' bottom line, has become questionable in recent years. Still, the National Retail Federation estimates that the weekend accounts for 10 percent to 15 percent of total holiday sales.

US shoppers no longer blow the bulk of their holiday budgets on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday. She half-heartedly flipped through a rack of girls' holiday party dresses and looked down the store's empty aisles. "So I think overall it is a solid strategy".

Yet again, trend experts say there's no single item that's making shoppers run to stores.

HomeGoods, Marshalls, Staples, T.J. Maxx and other retailers, however, chose to start their Black Friday sales based on the traditional times.

Retail giant Amazon has reported record figures as the American phenomenon of Black Friday appeared to pepper the consumer habits of thousands of bargain hunters.

Experian-IMRG believes internet spending today will hit £1.07 billion, a 32% increase on last year's £810 million - the first time that online retail sales in the United Kingdom will surpass £1 billion in one day.

The American-owned giant said on its website it chose not to take part in Black Friday after listening to its customers, and was instead running a series of offers in the run up to Christmas.

Also hurting retailers is Amazon.com Inc.

Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst, Adobe Digital Index, said, "US consumers have turned into digital shopping ninjas this holiday season as retailers continue to adjust to a huge influx of smartphone shoppers".

Sabrina Rajkumar, 36, a writer from NY, started shopping with her stepmom at Macy's at 7:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving and was just wrapping up at 5:30 a.m. Friday.

The average order value increased 9 percent to $162.00 on Thanksgiving Day, while it was $141, a 2 percent decrease, for Black Friday.

The rain didn't stop people from lining up outside the Toys "R" Us in Milwaukee, either. It didn't provide specific numbers.