This year's "Black Friday" could be the strongest opening to the U.S. holiday shopping season in years if the droves of Americans eager to exploit early-bird specials are any guide.
Terry Lundgren, chief executive officer of Federated Department Stores Inc., said he arrived at the company's flagship Macy's store in Manhattan at 5:30 a.m. to find lines wrapped completely around the building, which takes up a whole city block.
"I've been coming here for many years at the same time on this particular day and this looks like the largest crowd we've seen in years," Mr. Lundgren said. The sunny, cold weather was good for shopping, especially for coats and cashmere sweaters, he added.
Consumers see the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday -- called "Black Friday" because it once marked the day many retailers turned a profit, or went into the black, for the year -- as the first day of the holiday shopping season and a time to snag bargains, freebies and sales.
It used to be the year's busiest shopping day, but people looking for last-minute gifts have transferred that honour to the Saturday before Christmas. Still, the Thanksgiving weekend accounts for up to 10 per cent of holiday sales, according to Dana Telsey, analyst and founder of independent research firm Telsey Advisory Group LLC.
"We were extremely surprised by how promotional the circulars and the advertisements have been," said Ellen Davis, senior director of the National Retail Federation. "Retailers really went all-out to offer some substantial discounts this weekend to bring people into their stores."
"Everything we've seen indicates that consumers are responding," Ms. Davis said, adding that people were lined up across the country, trying to get bargains on toys, electronics and accessories.
Laura Richardson, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets, said the stocks of companies that sell electronics, including Best Buy Co. Inc., Circuit City Stores Inc. and Staples Inc., will be among the winners this season.
"Best Buy was just unbelievable," Ms. Richardson said of the crowds at the Tysons Corner, Va., location of the retailer. "It was so bad I couldn't even wait in the line." Best Buy is selling a 42-inch Panasonic high-definition plasma television for just under $1,000.
High traffic also affected online operations, disrupting Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s website for much of yesterday.
The troubles came a day after Amazon.com Inc.'s site had brief disruptions because of a Thanksgiving Day sale on Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 video game machines.
Walmart.com spokeswoman Amy Colella blamed a "higher-than-anticipated traffic surge."
