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Updated: Saturday, 28 Nov 2009, 3:23 AM PST
Published : Thursday, 26 Nov 2009, 10:52 PM PST
Posted by: Tony Spearman, Scott Coppersmith
West Hollywood - Early reports from the shopping centers indicate that Black
Friday crowds were bigger than on the day after Thanksgiving last
year.
Retailers are hoping it will translate to a better holiday
season, after a year of sales declines, and maybe provide a boost
to the struggling economy.
Stores enticed customers with expanded hours and deep
discounts. Some started their sales early, with several large
retailers, including Walmart, opening on Thanksgiving Day.
There were
isolated reports of squabbles
, but pre-dawn crowds were generally calm. Stores took extra
precautions to control the throngs after a Walmart worker on Long
Island was trampled to death last year on Black Friday.
In a sign that many consumers remain cautious, mall operators
say more shoppers are making purchases with cash and debit cards
instead of credit.
The term Black Friday in connection with the day after
Thanksgiving has several origins. The earliest comes from the
mid-1960s from the Philadelphia Police Department because of the
heavy traffic caused by shoppers.
An explanation from the early 1980s ties it to the accounting
practice of using black ink to denote profits, with the day after
Thanksgiving beginning the period where some retailers achieve a
profit on the day after operating at a loss earlier in the
year.