Portland shoppers line up early for Black Friday deals

The two, both single parents, said the sales are a big help as they buy gifts for their children.

“I’ve been doing this for 17 years”, said Larry Lamb, a leader of the adult ministries for the church.

However, this year supermarket giant Asda has declared it isn’t going to take part in Black Friday, instead saying it is going to offer discounts all year round.

In response, Wal-Mart and Target made all deals available later in the stores online Thanksgiving morning.

“The police will intervene if necessary to protect public order and safety, but we should be the service of last resort, not a substitute for carefully-considered in-store security plans”, she said.

“I knew the TV would be gone if I didn’t get here early”, Boyd said. “I think it’s the holiday, I don’t think they should do it on this day”.

“I guess it’s our new tradition”, said Yaneliz Tomasini, of Buffalo.

Employees might not have wanted to work the holiday, but some retailers reported offering more than just holiday pay.

Experian-IMRG believes internet spending today will hit £1.07 billion, a 32% increase on last year’s £810 million – the first time that online retail sales in the United Kingdom will surpass £1 billion in one day.

As much as 20 percent of holiday shopping is expected to be done over the Thanksgiving weekend this year, analysts said.

Grocery stores were open until 3 p.m., and cashiers said they were overwhelmed by last-minute shoppers. “I actually do this every year”. It normally goes for $429, Tejada said. “While Black Friday offers the potential for a short blast of extra sales volume, this will be at the expense of margins during the most crucial period of the trading year”.

“It was worth it”, said Kiran Patel, 42, of Yardley, who shortly after 3 p.m. was leaving the J.C. Penney at Oxford Valley Mall in Langhorne with pillows and towels that had been marked half off. “No doubt about it”.

At the Nashville West Target, only a handful of people stood in line at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving, but the line grew to several hundred people by the time the store opened at 6 p.m. People formed a single-file line inside metal gates. Inside the tent, they had a portable heater, laptop computer, blanket, pillows and a set of speakers.

Bland, who was joined by his wife, said he planned to finish Christmas shopping for his 5-year-old daughter.

“It was pretty nice for a change”, said Ashley Ponte, of Mississauga, Ont.

With some stores already open, authorities have some tips on how you can stay safe while Black Friday shopping. You can check out the stats at Black Friday’s very own violence tally page, blackfridaydeathcount.com. Accordingly, online retail websites have larger quantities and inventories, which means you have more of a chance to grab up the deals that everyone will be after.

Amazon is getting into the spirit by extending its holiday deals an additional eight straight days beginning on Black Friday.