Black Friday

Friday, November 25, 2011

Big crowds on Black Friday can be both a blessing and a curse. Early signs point to bigger crowds at the nation's malls and stores as retailers like Target and Macy's opened their doors at midnight on the most anticipated shopping day of the year and a few others opened on Thanksgiving Day. Shoppers were mostly peaceful across the country, but a few violent incidents broke out as millions of shoppers rushed into stores and tensions flared.

Some of the first shoppers enter the Target store at midnight, in Covington, La. Overland Park Career Fair. Early signs point to bigger crowds at the nation's malls and stores as retailers like Macy's and Target opened their doors at midnight. Toys R Us and a few stores other stores that opened on Thanksgiving Day also were filled with shoppers. (AP Photo/The Times-Picayune, David Grunfeld) NO SALES , MAGS OUT, USA TODAY OUT
People exit the Target store near Covington, La., shortly after midnight, Friday Nov. 25, 2011, with baskets full of items purchased during the start of Black Friday. (AP Photo/The Times-Picayune, David Grunfeld) NO SALES, MAGS OUT, USA TODAY OUT
A crowd of shoppers who had not waited in line outside the Target store in Lisbon, Conn., wait by the front doors for the queue to file-in as the store opens for Black Friday shopping at midnight Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Black Friday began in earnest as stores opened their doors at midnight.(AP Photo/The Day, Sean D. Elliot)
A woman takes a break from shopping on Black Friday at Dadeland Mall, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, in Miami. Early signs point to bigger crowds at the nation's malls and stores as retailers like Macy's and Target opened their doors at midnight. (AP Photo/ Lynne Sladky)

Black Friday shoppers crowd the check-out lines at the Kohls store at Northcrest Shopping Center in Fort Wayne, Ind., Friday, Nov 25, 2011. (AP Photo/The Journal Gazette, Samuel Hoffman). NEWS-SENTINEL OUT
A young shopper holds an Abercrombie and Fitch shopping bag at the Park City mall in Lancaster, Pa. on Black Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Early signs point to bigger crowds at the nation's malls and stores as retailers like Macy's and Target opened their doors at midnight. Toys R Us and a few stores other stores that opened on Thanksgiving Day also were filled with shoppers.(AP/Lancaster Newspapers, Richard Hertzler).
Crowds of Black Friday shoppers attempt to push their way through security staff moments after the doors opened outside of Best Buy at the Mall of Americain Bloomingtyon, Minn., Friday Nov. 25, 2011. Several retailers at the Mall, including Best Buy, opened their doors to bargain hunters at midnight Friday. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Kerry Neiderer has her hands and chin full of toys as she waits on line at Toys R' Us in West Manchester Township, Pa., on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/The York Daily Record, Jason Plotkin)
Rosio Guerrero, cq, left, shops at the JC Penney, in Phoenix, Ariz., Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Early signs point to bigger crowds at the nation's malls and stores as retailers like Macy's and Target opened their doors at midnight. Toys R Us and a few stores other stores that opened on Thanksgiving Day also were filled with shoppers. (AP/Photo/The Arizona Republic, Tom Tingle) MARICOPA COUNTY, NO SALES
A crowd awaits the opening of a Target store in Springettsbury Township Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. Early signs point to bigger crowds at the nation's malls and stores as retailers like Macy's and Target opened their doors at midnight. Toys R Us and a few stores other stores that opened on Thanksgiving Day also were filled with shoppers.(AP Photo/York Daily Record, Jason Plotkin) YORK DISPATCH OUT
Shoppers race to take advantage of bargains at the Target store in Weston, Wis., on Black Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Early signs point to bigger crowds at the nation's malls and stores as retailers like Macy's and Target opened their doors at midnight. (AP Photo/Wausau Daily Herald, Dan Young) NO SALES
Hundreds of shoppers waited in line for hours at Toys R Us in Millcreek Township, near Erie, Pa., for their 9 p.m. opening on Thanksgiving night, which kicked off the Black Friday shopping spree at the Upper Peach Street retail stores. The line extended to the far end of the parking lot. (AP Photo/Erie Times-News, CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE) **NO RESALE, MAGS OUT, NO TV, NO ONLINE**
Sergio Lira, of Phoenix, holds Christmas bulbs as he shops at the Home Depot in Phoenix, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Thousands of shoppers around the valley woke up early to take advantage of Black Friday deals. (AP Photo/Arizona Republic, Tom Tingle/The Republic) MARICOPA COUNTY, NO SALES
Target customer Nancy, last name not given, waits with televisions purchased at aTarget Store in Colma, Calif., Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. The American holiday shopping season began in earnest Friday as stores opened their doors at midnight _ a few hours earlier than they normally do on the most anticipated shopping day of the year. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Two customers walk with their purchased items after shopping at a Kohl's department store in La Habra, Calif., Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Thousands of shoppers lined up at Macy's, Best Buy and other stores nationwide to buy everything from toys to tablets on Black Friday despite the economic downturn and some planned protests of the shopping holiday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
COMMERCIAL IMAGE - In this photo taken by AP Images for Dyson, crowds head into Dyson warming pods as Best Buy's Black Friday lines grow, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011 in Chicago. Efficient Dyson Hot� fan heaters keep the warming pods at a constant 75 degrees as temperatures outside dipped into the 40s. (Peter Barreras/AP Images for Dyson)
Shoppers wait for opening at a Kmart in Chicago on Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Black Friday began in earnest as stores opened their doors at midnight.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
The line stretched throughout the shopping center as people lined up at Toys R Us in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011, for the 9 p.m. opening of the store. Black Friday sales began in earnest as stores opened their doors at midnight. (AP Photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Rachel Denny Clow)
Hundreds of shoppers and onlookers check out the Black Friday madness at the Target store near Covington, shortly before it opened its doors at midnight, Thursday Nov. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/The Times-Picayune, David Grunfeld) NO SALES, MAGS OUT, USA TODAY OUT
Linda Hardenbrook rings a bell for the Salvation Army, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, at Woodland Mall in Bowling Green, Ohio. A professional clown, Hardenbrook was dressed resembling a character from the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This was her first time as a bell ringer. (AP Photo/Sentinel-Tribune, J.D. Pooley) MANDATORY CREDIT, TOLEDO BLADE OUT
Balloons at an Oakland, Calif., Walmart advertise sale prices to shoppers on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. Walmart opened their doors before midnight to encourage early shopping.(AP Photo/Noah Berger)
With 20 years of Black Friday experience, Peggy Parie, of Horn Lake, Miss., takes a rest to pace herself while waiting for her daughter who is standing in the check-out line of Target in Horn Lake on Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. (AP photo/The Commercial Appeal, Stan Carroll)