BLACK Friday has kicked off and so far, so calm for UK retailers. Last year saw scenes of chaos as shoppers grappled with each other for electrical items at bargain prices.
But while shoppers across the UK braved the cold at the crack of dawn for cheap TVs, there are yet to be any fist fights over half price hoovers.
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Shopper grabs a cheap TV in a Tesco Extra store in Blackpool, Lancs - without even changing out of her onesie
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A herd of shoppers stormed through the doors at Tesco Extra in
Blackpool bright and early this morning - with some not even changing
out of their onesies before hitting the sales.
Tesco stores were offering mince pies to freezing bargain-hunters who
cowered in the wind and rain until the doors opened at 5am.
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Shoppers nabbing 49 inch TVs for £199 at Kingston Park Tesco Extra in Newcastle |
But as supermarket giant Asda, who saw scenes of madness last year as
shoppers flung themselves on cut-price items, decided not to take part
in this year’s sale - the atmosphere is much less tense.
Many shops opened at 5am, but were heavily staffed and had police on watch to avoid a repeat of 2014’s chaos.
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| Shopper grabs a cheap TV in a Tesco Extra store in Blackpool, Lancs - without even changing out of her onesie
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Shoppers
in Lancashire braved the cold at the crack of dawn to visit the Tesco
Extra store in Burnley, but were given team talks on the dos and don’ts
before entering the store - including “no abuse or violence” and “enjoy
yourselves”.
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| A lucky customer nabs a huge TV for half price at this Lea Valley Tesco at the crack of dawn today |
This is a marked difference from last year, when one shopper claims
she saw a woman place her baby on a TV so no-one else could get their
hands on it.
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| Shoppers braved the cold at 5am to get their hands on some bargains across the UK |
Another shopper said she’d been up all night getting her hands on as many Argos bargains as she could.
She said: “I haven’t been to sleep, I've been up all night shopping. I
had the laptop, tablet and mobiles on looking for bargains. We are just
greedy."
Many stores have taken extra precautions this year,
after warnings from police firms need to ensure they have enough
security staff on board in case of any trouble. One shopper in Cardiff’s Western Avenue Tesco store was already
disappointed with the sales - as she was told she could not purchase the
basic items, a cucumber and a loaf of bread, she had come to buy.
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Shoppers eagerly await this stores opening in Eldon Square in Newcastle |
Elsewhere
in the UK, 100 people braved the northern winds outside Tesco Extra in
Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne before the opening time of 5am. As customers became concerned about the growing numbers, they were assured by staff there was enough stock for everyone.
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| Walmart in America attracted scores of people trying to grab a bargain before Christmas |
In
Liverpool, shoppers at JD sports became disgruntled after staff refused
to let them indoors - despite it being 7.43am. Eileen, who hit the
sales early doors for some bargains, kicked off at a shop-worker as she
vied for entrance.
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| Asda decided not to take part in this year's Black Friday after scenes of mayhem in stores last year |
But while stores may be quiet, online shops have already crashed with
the amount of people trying to get hold of bargains online. By
7.30am eight websites were already out of stock on a number of items,
with tens of thousands of people looking for bargains at the same time.
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| Customers queue outside Game waiting to grab some Black Friday deals on a range of games
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In the USA, scenes were more manic - as shoppers fought over cheap
household items. One video shows a shopper ripping a vegetable steamer
out a small child's arms before pushing the littlun's mum.
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| Asda's Wembley store in London last year was chaotic as people desperately tried to grab cheap items
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Staff
at a Target store even came up with a special Black Friday rap,
encouraging customers to make the most of their cut-price stock. A fist-fight broke out in an American store, with shoppers battering each other as the Black Friday frenzy hits full throttle.
Stunned shoppers watched on as two men came to blows in the middle of a busy shopping centre.
Jeweller Tresor Paris has given what could be the biggest Black
Friday discount - knocking a whopping £25,000 off a 3ct diamond and
226ct blue topaz white gold pendant.
It is expected customers could spend their way to the
UK's first £1 billion in online shopping day today.
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