A Sheriff’s department in West Virginia confirms this morning that a scuffle over a parking spot at a Walmart in Tazewell County resulted in a stabbing, which is, of course, how we know that the holiday shopping season is upon us.
We’re collecting videos and tweets of the Black Friday madness this morning.
We’ll begin in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, which experienced a stampede for savings!
Shoppers are racing through the aisles of stores in search of a deal. Each year, the Black Friday offerings start earlier and earlier, but the people keep coming.
Shoppers we found had carts full of stuff, some people had to get multiple carts just to fill their lists. Toys R Us is where FOX59 found an absolutely heartwarming story of a couple who got up from their thanksgiving table to do some good for the community.
“Just to give back to the community, to help, I mean, times are tough nowadays,” said Renee Hull.
The toys they put in to their numerous carts are for needy kids in Central Indiana. Each year, for the last 20 years, the Hulls team up with some of Renee’s friends who pool their money and spend it on toys to make sure kids have a merry christmas. The Pike Township Trustees and Fire Department give them out to the families so something is under their trees. If what is purchased on Black Friday isn’t enough, no worries.
“We’ll come back out and help them back out and we’ll get what they need. So, it’s fun, it’s fun to see the kids open their gifts,” Hull said.
The Hulls we’re among the thousands of people who came out to Toys R Us and other stores after loading up on turkey to load up on deals. Toys R Us was mobbed, and it was no easy trip through the aisles.
You had to squeeze through the crowded Best Buy store next door. Electronics were marked down big time, and Trey Taylor hoped to find a cheap iPad 2. Dealing with the crowds was another story.
“This is one of the first times, and it is a little but insane for me, but I knew they had deals so I couldn’t resist. I’m already kinda wanting to go home,” Taylor said.
This video has been popular this morning, showing a manic shopper pushing through a crowd like a fullback sniffing the end zone…
Here’s a scuffle over something — tablets? — which results in an arrest that a Walmart employee doesn’t want filmed…
And here’s a frenzy over some Rachael Ray cookware in Tennessee…
The holiday shopping season kicked off much earlier this year, as at least a dozen national retail chains from Macy's to Gap to Target opened their stores on Thanksgiving Day despite planned protests from workers' rights groups opposed to employees working on the holiday.
The early start to this year's shopping mayhem did not prevent several reported violent confrontations at stores around the nation that opened up for Black Friday, which is typically considered the biggest shopping day of the year.
A New Jersey man was arrested Thursday in a Walmart and charged with disorderly conduct and aggravated assault on a police officer after allegedly arguing with a store employee over a TV, NBCNewYork.com reported.
In the Chicago suburb of Romeoville, a driver believed to be involved in a shoplifting scheme was shot by authorities after dragging a police officer who was trying to stop him in the parking lot of a Kohl's department store late Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reported.
reported. The suspected shoplifter and two additional suspects were arrested, police told the newspaper. Both the driver and the officer sustained injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, according to the report.
At a Wal-Mart in the Southern California city of Rialto, a police officer was injured while trying to break up a fight after a store manager decided to open the doors early, which police said led to the melee, according to the San Bernardino County Sun.
Police said there were three fights at the store, two of which were inside over merchandise and the third outside that left the officer injured. All of the people involved in the fights were taken into custody, the newspaper reported.
In Las Vegas, a customer who had purchased a big-screen television at Target was shot in the leg while walking to a nearby apartment complex, KLAS-TV reported. The victim was taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to police.
reported. The victim was taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to police.In the past few years, retailers have pushed opening times into Thanksgiving night. They've also pushed up discounting that used to be reserved for Black Friday into early November, which has led retail experts to question whether the Thanksgiving openings will steal some of Black Friday's thunder. Overall, The National Retail Federation expects retail sales to be up 3.9 percent to $602.1 billion during the last two months of the year. That's higher than last year's 3.5 percent growth, but below the 6 percent pace seen before the recession.
Analysts expect sales to be generated at the expense of profits as retailers will likely have to do more discounting to get people into stores.
About 15,000 shoppers were at Macy's Herald Square in New York City right before the doors opened, estimated Terry Lundgren, CEO, president and chairman of the department store chain. Last year, the store had 11,000 people right before the midnight opening.
Lundgren, who was at the entrance, told The Associated Press that the retailer knew it had to open when it found out other competitors were planning to open on Thanksgiving night. He also said it received positive feedback from its employees. "We're a competitive group," he said. "It's very clear they (the shoppers) want to be here at 8 p.m."
The store was featuring 375 doorbusters, up from last year's 200. Some of the deals included $79.99 jackets originally priced from $195 to $250, and cashmere sweaters for $39, marked down from 129.
Shelby Wheatley, 17, was with her mother, her mother's friend and her best friend, who all traveled from Orlando, Fla. Wheatley was looking for a prom dress and wanted to buy it in New York.
"I did Black Friday-but never Thursday--and never in New York," she said.
As for Thanksgiving, the group celebrated early with family last week.
The Thanksgiving openings are part of retailers' holiday strategy of trying to lure shoppers in early and often during the holiday shopping season. But the stores face challenges in doing that.
Some workers have petitions on change.org to protest against Target and Best Buy. The Retail Action Project, a labor-backed group of retail workers, also is planning to have members visiting customers at stores including Gap and Victoria's Secret in Manhattan to educate them about the demands on workers.
Wal-Mart has been the biggest target for protests against holiday hours. Most of the company's stores are open 24 hours, but the retailer is starting its sales events at 6 p.m. on Thursday, two hours earlier than last year.
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