Massive bargain hunt as US shops hope for a Black Friday kickstart

Retailers in the US are hoping that today's Black Friday discount bonanza would kick-start sluggish early Christmas sales.

Analysts warned that the annual post-Thanksgiving shopping event was more important than ever this year with high unemployment and fears of a weak economy hitting consumer confidence.

But crowds of shoppers at a Wal-Mart store in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, were drenched in pepper spray when a scramble for deals turned ugly. A woman shopper injured 10 after a confrontation at 10.20pm - 20 minutes after the shop had opened.

In New York, Occupy protesters formed human barricades to try to block shoppers from entering shops - in particular Macy's department store. Many leading stores in the city had opened before midnight offering bargains including half-price PlayStations and wide-screen televisions.

Early indications were good for retailers with shops reporting steady footfall and online retailers calling sales "buoyant". It is expected that shoppers will spend £320 billion during the holiday season - three per cent more than they did last year.

Black Friday is hugely important to US stores which try to encourage early shopping. Up to 40 per cent of their sales can come in December.

"It's a good move to try to get shoppers to spend sooner, before they run out of money," Burt Flickinger, president of retail consultancy Strategic Resource Group said. Millie Ayala, a 28-year-old receptionist, began queuing at a Toys R Us in New York last night. The hard-up mother was hoping to buy an interactive dog named Cookie and some baby dolls for her two daughters for Christmas. "Finances have been tough," she said. "Things are a lot more expensive but with Black Friday deals, things are more affordable."

Over the weekend, 152 million people are expected to shop.