2009-12-09 05:53:21 - Even dressed in pyjamas, Americans set out on their one day of the year, Black Friday spending spree.

Black Friday in different countries has different meanings. For some it is when Friday is the 13th of the month, as it was on November 13th. For the United States of America, however, Black Friday is an annual event, which declares the opening of the Christmas shopping spree.

It is the day after Thanksgiving Friday 27th November, when millions of Americans, some in their pyjamas still, hit the stores, hoping to grab the bargains. Thousands of shoppers queued outside stores long before dawn’s early light broke. They scrambled like hungry seagulls dive bombing a fishing fleet, hunting for discounted items.

Many elbowed their way through crowds, taking hold of a deal and text messaging their victory to a friend, before zipping off

to grab more bargains.

"We've already been to Sports Authority, Citrus Park mall, Walmart, CVS and Walgreens. I think that's it. This is our last stop of the day," said one shopper, helping to load two $99 TV credenzas and two $99 coffee tables on a shopping cart at Ikea. It was still only 9.00a.m.

The leading 200 shoppers entering the Queens Center Mall, in New York, received a $10 gift voucher, when the doors opened at 11.00 p.m. Other incentives were everywhere.

The shopping frenzy last year proved fatal for some shoppers and staff, when a Wal-Street employee was trampled to death and some people were badly injured, in a shopping stampede of utter chaos. Two men died when they had a shoot-out in Toys ‘R’ Us in Palm Desert, California.

This year shop managers endeavored to control the eager crowds in a more controlled manner. The worst fights were broken up by police. The staff at some shops walked along the waiting queues, taking orders in advance, then filling carts with those items, to save customers time, in the hope of lessening the crush. One shopper complained ”It was horrible. You couldn’t move”.

Other stores remained open a full 24 hours, hoping to quieten the competition among the shoppers. The feeding frenzy was expected to continue through Saturday and Sunday of the holiday weekend.

Black Friday is the country’s biggest shopping day, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the retail industry’s annual sales. The question remains, will other countries pick up the challenge to also host a ‘Black Friday’?
Many shoppers are now, however, opting for ‘Cyber Monday’ on the Internet, rather than Black Friday in the crowded shops.

Black Friday in different countries has different meanings. For some it is when Friday is the 13th of the month, as it was on November 13th. For the United States of America, however, Black Friday is an annual event, which declares the opening of the Christmas shopping spree.

It is the day after Thanksgiving Friday 27th November, when millions of Americans, some in their pyjamas still, hit the stores, hoping to grab the bargains. Thousands of shoppers queued outside stores long before dawn’s early light broke. They scrambled like hungry seagulls dive bombing a fishing fleet, hunting for discounted items.

Many elbowed their way through crowds, taking hold of a deal and text messaging their victory to a friend, before zipping off to grab more bargains.

"We've already been to Sports Authority, Citrus Park mall, Walmart, CVS and Walgreens. I think that's it. This is our last stop of the day," said one shopper, helping to load two $99 TV credenzas and two $99 coffee tables on a shopping cart at Ikea. It was still only 9.00a.m.

The leading 200 shoppers entering the Queens Center Mall, in New York, received a $10 gift voucher, when the doors opened at 11.00 p.m. Other incentives were everywhere.

The shopping frenzy last year proved fatal for some shoppers and staff, when a Wal-Street employee was trampled to death and some people were badly injured, in a shopping stampede of utter chaos. Two men died when they had a shoot-out in Toys ‘R’ Us in Palm Desert, California.

This year shop managers endeavored to control the eager crowds in a more controlled manner. The worst fights were broken up by police. The staff at some shops walked along the waiting queues, taking orders in advance, then filling carts with those items, to save customers time, in the hope of lessening the crush. One shopper complained ”It was horrible. You couldn’t move”.

Other stores remained open a full 24 hours, hoping to quieten the competition among the shoppers. The feeding frenzy was expected to continue through Saturday and Sunday of the holiday weekend.

Black Friday is the country’s biggest shopping day, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the retail industry’s annual sales. The question remains, will other countries pick up the challenge to also host a ‘Black Friday’?

Many shoppers are now, however, opting for ‘Cyber Monday’ on the Internet, rather than Black Friday in the crowded shops.

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