Black friday Group members Grace Tiffany Wienne Odnoo Turuu

US Black Friday quieter as bargains spread over two days

The traditional scrum of sharp elbows was notably less intense on Black Friday in the US this year. O The crowds, gathering at the US's big shopping centres, appeared to have exhausted some of their shopping enthusiasm on Thursday.

Many shoppers headed straight to the shops whilst still digesting their Thanksgiving turkey on Thursday, forming queues outside Macy's by 6pm on what is becoming known as "grey Thursday ".

Target boss Brian Cornell welcomed the shift towards earlier shopping when opening trading at the NYSE

Cyber shopping O Wal-Mart said Thursday was its second- highest online sales day ever after last year's Cyber Monday, the first Monday in December when many people order items they'd like to arrive in time for Christmas.

As with last year, many stores chose to open a day earlier on what is now being called "grey Thursday"

Shift to labour The earlier start to holiday shopping has placed even more focus on the plight of workers who must often leave their families in order to help shops open on Thanksgiving. O Labour organisers and Walmart workers staged protests at 1,600 locations on Friday

Surrounded by dozens of police officers in the brisk cold, they chanted slogans like "Wal- Mart, Wal-Mart you're no good, treat your workers like you should" and waved banners. Inside the store, however, Wal-Mart representatives disputed their claims. "They're really not representative of our associates at all. Our associates are in here working hard and they're excited to be here. This is the most fun day of all,"

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