Thanksgiving sales begin

Today is 'Black Friday' in the US. Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving, and it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employees have the day off, which increases the number of potential shoppers. Many retailers open very early (typically 5am or even earlier) and offer doorbuster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores.

In keeping with tradition, this morning, US stores opened early and offered steep discounts to encourage consumers to part with their cash as the Christmas shopping season kicks off. The day after the Thanksgiving holiday is viewed as an important test of how willing consumers are to spend. Crowds of shoppers turned up at dawn to snare the best deals. A worker died and at least three people were injured after being trampled by a crowd of shoppers at a Wal-Mart in the New York suburbs! Police said a throng of shoppers broke down the doors to the Wal-Mart store in Valley Stream, Long Island, shortly after 5am, knocking the 34-year-old worker to the ground.

Electronics retailer Best Buy and department stores Kohl's and Macy's also opened their doors at dawn. Toys R Us offered up to 60% discounts from 5am to 10am. However, deep discounts are likely to hurt profits even if shoppers turn out in droves. Many retailers have suffered as the US economy nosedives although value chains like Wal-Mart have fared better. US retail sales recorded the biggest monthly decline since 1992 in October as consumers cut back on spending.