American shoppers descend on Black Friday deals

Cue the bargain hunters, and let the holiday shopping marathon begin.

In the U.S., hordes of people plan to participate in retail's annual event. Most markdowns are available online, but plenty of brick-and-mortar stores opened on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, 26 November). Among them are Target, Walmart, Toys ‘R’ Us and Best Buy.

The interior of a Target store.

Other stores will wait until Friday morning (November 27) to kick off holiday shopping, including bookstore chain Barnes & Noble and Swedish multinational retail-clothing company H&M, known for its fast-fashion clothing.

Black Friday at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, New York City in 2011

The good news for retailers is that shoppers are ready to spend 25% more this year than last year -- or an average of $369 each, according to a survey from a consulting firm.

A traditional Thanksgiving dinner; Thanksgiving is a holiday in the USA and Canada when people give thanks and families and friends usually eat a special meal together

In the suburban town of Wallingford, Connecticut, hundreds of people were at Walmart shortly before the store kicked off its sale deals at 6 p.m. Thursday. The hypermarket chain had offered many great deals online this year, but many shoppers still opted to brave the store in-person.

Walmart grocery section, ethnic foods aisle

While some shoppers wandered through the aisles, looking at deeply discounted clothing and home goods, many in the store gathered in organized lines snaking through the aisles -- hoping to snag one of the tablets, flat-screen TVs and other electronics that made up most of the store's Black Friday advertisements.

Toys'R'Us store in Time Square, NYC

Meanwhile, in Manhattan, crowds came out in droves to the Times Square Toys "R" Us' on Black Friday (November 27). The store has been in Times Square since 2001, but it's not renewing its lease after it runs out in January 2016. The place was so packed with shoppers that it was hard to move.

(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)