If local media reports are accurate, shoppers have turned out in huge numbers across the country for Black Friday.
We did a survey of local news sites to gather the latest Black Frdiay news. And it looks very good for retailers.
Cincinnati, Ohio: “A long line of shoppers looking for the best priced toys for Christmas waited outside a Western Hills Toys R’ Us store on Glenway Avenue, since late Thursday night to be among the first in line. After the doors opened at 12 a.m., there were some reports that Cincinnati police had to be called to bring order to a disorderly line of shoppers. Some of them said an argument between several groups of shoppers got out of hand and forced the police to called for help…At the new Wal-Mart superstore in Fairfax on Red Bank Road, over a thousand people came early Friday morning, to be in the right line to get some of the doorbuster sales the chain was offering…Many retailers warn that they have severely cut back on what they have ordered.”
Weston, Wisconsin: “The line leading to Target in Weston stretched at least three blocks as people got ready for Black Friday shopping Friday.”
Framingham, Massachusetts: “Dondrae May, a manager at Best Buy’s Framingham, Mass., store, said shoppers started lining up at 4 p.m. Thursday for the 5 a.m. opening for the limited early morning specials like the $299 32-inch Dynex flat-panel TV.
He noted that crowds were larger than last year and that shoppers were filling their basket with more items than a year ago, when they were shellshocked following the ballooning of the financial meltdown. The biggest draws were laptops, TVs and GPS systems, he said.”
Aurora, Illinois: “Black Friday shoppers got an early start this year, causing a 2-mile traffic back-up near Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora…Starting about 11 p.m. Thursday, cars began lining up to get into the mall, according to Illinois State Police…The mall opened at midnight, and the heavy traffic remained for several hours, State Police said.”
Somewhere In Middle Georgia: “400 early birds waited in the dark for Belk to open this morning at 4:00 am.
“There was a huge crowd when I got here at 3 o’clock this morning,” said Belk’s General Manager, Darwin Saunders. “One of the first customers I talked to, she said she got here at 12:30 am and had been standing at the door waiting for us to open.”
South Portland, Maine: “Eager shoppers lined up as much as nine hours in advance to catch Black Friday deals.
At Target in South Portland, shoppers gathered at 8:00 PM on Thanksgiving to be first in line when the doors opened at 5:00 AM.
Other early openers include the Bangor Mall, which also opened up at 5:00 AM. Folks started shopping at the Maine Mall at 6:00 AM and the Auburn Mall at 7:00 AM. Toys R Us was the first to open, however, letting shoppers in at midnight.”
Galesburg, Illinois: “Early morning — Black Friday — large crowds of Christmas shoppers are not unexpected. But, the number of shoppers out before dawn today in Galesburg appeared to be as many or more than last year, even with unemployment at 11.5 percent.”
Bloomington, Minnesota: “At the Mall of America in Bloomington, a Black Friday wallflower in years past, when the doors opened at 4 a.m. about 2,500 people were in line, attracted by goodie bags promised to the first 300 shoppers.”
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The holiday shopping spree has, more or less, officially started in the US with Black Friday’s huge discounts, or just shrewd advertising depending on your point of view, that most retailers are offering today. While people are hitting the stores today, most have already done their homework online well ahead of time, as Google search data shows. Several items seem to be hot with the younger crowd this year, including everyone’s favorite vampire saga, Twilight, soundtrack. With the older and more tech-savvy audience, though, the trend is clear, it’s all about netbooks. 
