Even in online retail era, Black Friday lures a crowd to physical stores

It would have been easy for consumers to turn on their computers at home over plates of leftover Thanksgiving turkey and take advantage of the Black Friday deals most retailers now offer online. But across the US, thousands of shoppers flocked to stores on Thanksgiving or woke up before dawn the following day to take part in the most famous ritual of American consumerism. In New York, shoppers flocked to the Manhattan Mall, with stores like JCPenney offering major deals on toys and jewellery and just steps away from a major retail corridor on 34th street, which houses the city's landmark Macy's department store, and with dozens of choices nearby and good deals up for grabs early Friday. (AP)