Shoppers flock to US stores early

STORES across the US stayed open during the wee hours yesterday as bargain hunters flocked in, seeking to get a jump on holiday shopping ahead of the Christmas season.

The early morning shopping chaos that has become a day-after-Thanksgiving tradition crept back this year to eat into Thanksgiving Day itself. What was known as Black Friday - the day when stores traditionally turn a profit for the year - started on Thursday evening in many places.

When Macy's opened its doors in New York City at midnight, 11,000 shoppers showed up. Target Corp opened its doors at 9pm on Thursday, three hours earlier than last year. Sears, which didn't open on Thanksgiving last year, opened at 8pm.

Elizabeth Garcia, a sales rep from New York City, went shopping at about 3:30am at a nearby Toys R Us in Times Square. Garcia, who has three children ages three, five and seven, said she specifically decided on the late time to avoid the crowds on Thanksgiving when the store opened at 8pm. She believes that was the best decision: Last year, Garcia almost got into a fight over a Tinker Bell couch, but this year things were much calmer.

"This year I wasn't about to kill people," she said.

It is unclear how many shoppers were drawn to the earlier openings versus the traditional Black Friday hours. But according to an International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs survey of 1,000 consumers conducted this month, about 17 percent planned to shop at stores that opened on Thanksgiving, up from 16 percent last year when retailers were testing the earlier hours. Meanwhile, 33 percent intended to shop on Black Friday, down 1 percentage point from last year. Overall, it's estimated that sales on Black Friday will be up 3.8 percent to US$11.4 billion this year.

The earlier hours are an effort by stores to make shopping convenient for Americans, who they fear won't spend freely amid economic uncertainty.

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