Black Friday Sales Rise 0.5% as Crowds Shop for TVs, Computers

Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) — Black Friday sales advanced 0.5 percent from a year earlier as discounts on televisions, toys and computers drew budget-conscious crowds across the U.S., according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp.

Sales for the day after the Thanksgiving holiday rose to $10.7 billion, the Chicago-based research firm said yesterday in a statement. That compared with a 3 percent gain to $10.6 billion on Black Friday last year, a “surprisingly strong” result before economic turmoil dragged down sales for the rest of the holiday season, ShopperTrak said.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, attracted consumers with $298 Hewlett-Packard laptop computers and other specials that went on sale at 5 a.m. Best Buy Inc., the biggest electronics chain, used $547.99 42-inch Samsung flat-panel TVs to lure shoppers grappling with the highest unemployment in 26 years. The retailer had bigger early-morning crowds than last year, Chief Executive Officer Brian Dunn said.

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