Americans flocked to the stores Friday to participate in the emerging tradition of Black Friday shopping.
THE GOOD
Joe Cardamone, store manager of J.C. Penney’s Manhattan store, said he was encouraged by the traffic and sales he saw Friday, as compared to the lackluster 2012 shopping season: “It felt like getting back to the old times.” The Friday morning assessment by Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren: “Clearly people are in the shopping mood.”
THE BAD
Some shoppers said they weren’t impressed with this year’s bargains. But that didn’t seem to affect sales of the most popular items. Stores reported running out of the popular Furby toys, and a Wal-Mart near Tampa teetered on the edge of disorder after it not only ran out of sale-priced TVs, but vouchers for people in line when the stock was depleted.
THE UGLY
CNN headlined it “Season’s Beatings:” the annual Black Friday round of shopping-related assaults and injuries. Among the most notable: Shoplifting suspects trying to flee a Chicago-area department store dragged a police officer with their vehicle. His injury was minor, but another officer shot the driver in the arm. The store, meanwhile, stayed open.
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