Black Friday fails to draw big crowds in US

America’s annual Black Friday shopping extravaganza was short on fireworks this year as US retailers’ discounts on electronics, clothing and other holiday gifts failed to draw big crowds to stores and shopping malls.

Major retail stocks including Best Buy and Wal-Mart closed lower while Target, picked out by one analyst for its promotion strategy, saw its shares tick up.

Bargain-hunters found relatively little competition compared with previous years. Some had already shopped on Thursday evening, reflecting a new normal of US holiday shopping, where stores open up with deals on Thanksgiving.

Retailers “have taken the sense of urgency out for consumers by spreading their promotions throughout the year and what we are seeing is a result of that,” said Jeff Simpson, director of the retail practice at Deloitte. Traffic in stores was lighton Friday, while Thursday missed his expectations, he said.

Wal-Mart chief merchandising officer Steve Bratspiessaid he was not surprised a store would see thinner crowds yesterday after it kicked off Black Friday deals on Thursday night. – (Reuters)