Shoppers hunting for big deals packed malls on Black Friday as retailers stepped up discounts and other perks to lure customers weighed down by inflation and sticking to tighter budgets.

It is not a stretch to say that the Black Friday game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets is Amazon’s Super Bowl.

Retailers are kicking off the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season on Friday with a bevy of discounts and other enticements.

A 23-year-old woman from Chicago stands accused of stealing sunglasses estimated at over $1,250 just before Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday in Miami-Dade County.

A 24-year-old woman stands accused of a theft estimated at over $750 just before Thanksgiving Day in Broward County.

If you didn’t already guess it from a barrage of sales ads in your inbox, the holiday shopping season is upon us.

Holiday sales rose as American spending remained resilient during the critical shopping season despite surging prices on everything from food to rent, according to one measure.

Thousands of shoppers returned for Black Friday sales at Aventura Mall.

Brandsmart shoppers got an early jump on Black Friday, but when should you set your alarm to get out and start shopping.

While Black Friday will mark a return to familiar holiday shopping patterns, uncertainty still remains.

The Grinch’s followers will be on the prowl as Santa Claus helpers take advantage of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday online sales.

California is bringing back a statewide indoor mask mandate.

U.S. consumer confidence fell to a nine-month low in November, held back by rising worries about inflation and lingering concerns about the coronavirus.

Americans are spending freely and going back to store shopping, knocking out some of the momentum in online sales from last year when Americans were making many of their purchases exclusively via the internet.

Shoppers streamed through Aventura Mall on Black Friday hoping to snag deals.

Sawgrass Mills Mall is full of shoppers taking advantage of Black Friday sales.

Climate activists have blockaded Amazon warehouses in three European countries.

Beth Azor owns several retail centers. She said supply chain issues and staff shortages resulted in “a perfect storm” this Black Friday.

Happy Prime Day! Not sure where to start or why you should care? Let us explain.

U.S. retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in November, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The Commerce Department on Wednesday also revised October’s report, saying that retail sales fell 0.1% that month, instead of rising 0.3% as it previously reported. Economists expect retail sales to fall again this month as virus cases spike and states add more restrictions. “It will take a miracle to keep retail sales positive in December," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at global financial group MUFG. The few bright spots were online sales, which rose 0.2%, supermarket sales, up 1.9%, and sales at home improvement stores, which were up 1.1%.

Black Friday online sales hit a new record this year as pandemic-wary Americans filled virtual carts instead of real ones. Consumers spent an estimated $9 billion on U.S. retail websites on Black Friday, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping. Field said stores may be rethinking the cost of paying employees and opening on Thanksgiving when they could easily make up for those sales online. Adobe expects Monday to be the largest online sales day in U.S. history, with estimated spending of $10.8 billion to $12.7 billion. One reason for the big numbers is that people are shopping online for things such as groceries and alcohol that they bought in person before the pandemic, Adobe said.

(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois has risen above 12,000 deaths from COVID-19, while also surpassing the 700,000 mark for confirmed coronavirus infections. The Health Department said the situation constituted an “alert,” and said that nationwide, infections had risen by over 8% last week. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have asked the FDA to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The state health department reported 5,704 new cases on Friday, putting the state at 3,476 deaths and 295,001 cases since March. ___TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he expects more than half of Canadians to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by next September.

Crowds at stores were dramatically diminished as shoppers shifted online. Holiday sales have averaged gains of 3.5% over the past five years. Black Friday is projected to generate $10 billion in online sales, a 39% bump from the year ago period, according to Adobe. And Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, will remain the biggest online shopping day of the year with $12.7 billion in sales, a 35% jump. At a popular shopping area in St. Petersburg, Florida, several storefronts were empty, and the only line was at a plasma donation center.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Dozens of bargain hunters waited in line outside of the BrandsMart USA in Miami Gardens. There was a high demand for flat-screen televisions, appliances, and tablets. The store was among the retailers that were offering in-store only deals during Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Best Buy and Walmart are among the retailers that are allowing online purchases to be picked up at stores for faster delivery. Many e-commerce sales have been ongoing since Wednesday and will continue until Cyber Monday.

The approach of “Black Friday," originally scheduled for Nov. 27 in France, had brought the dilemma to a head. The director of Amazon France, Frederic Duval, told France Info radio on Friday before the meeting that the e-commerce distributor was ready to sign up to a delay. The delay applies only to Amazon France, he added. “If we can’t open our shops for Christmas it will be very difficult for the sector,” she said. “There are already a lot of flower shops that suffer greatly so, today, we need help and coherence.”

NEW YORK – Walmart says it will spread out its traditional one-day Black Friday deals over three weekends in November in an effort to reduce crowds in its stores during a pandemic. The discounter, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, will kick off the deals online Nov. 4, with new deals in stores on Nov. 7. The second event will begin online Nov. 11, followed by a similar sales event in stores Nov. 14. It will wrap up its discounts online Nov. 25 with new discounts in stores Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving and the traditional Black Friday. This holiday season, many stores are starting their holiday deals in October.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)NEW YORK – Add last-minute holiday shopping to the list of time-honored traditions being upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Black Friday has long been the unofficial start to the U.S. holiday season, though retailers have been pushing holiday shopping earlier for the last decade or so. The first big holiday push will come from Amazon, which is positioning its mid-October Prime Day as a kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Even with the early start to the season, holiday sales are expected to deliver smaller gains than in recent years. Joel Bines, who runs the retail practice at AlixPartners, thinks the earlier shopping will stick even when the pandemic is over.

NEW YORK Target is joining Walmart in closing its stores on Thanksgiving Day, ending a decadelong tradition of jump-starting Black Friday door buster sales. Now, the virus has turned the holiday shopping model upside down. Historically, deal hunting and holiday shopping can mean crowded events, and this isnt a year for crowds, Minneapolis-based Target said in a corporate blog posted. Despite competition from Thanksgiving shopping, Black Friday ranks as either the top or No. Like Target, other retailers will also likely start holiday sales even earlier to stretch out crowds.

But we’re referring to Corona beer and Cinco de Mayo. Typically, the dominant choice of beer for those celebrating Cinco de Mayo is Corona. But Corona likely will be consumed way less than usual due to the coronavirus pandemic, that is unrelated in name. In February, a report in the Denver Post said Corona was taking a public relations hit due to people fearing they would get coronavirus by drinking Corona. Cinco de Mayo has surpassed St. Patrick’s Day and the Super Bowl for beer consumption on one day, with Corona virtually holding a monopoly on advertising and sales for beer on Cinco de Mayo, according to Loop Insights.

That's kind of what Off the Truck Liquidators resembles on Friday mornings. Inside, you'll find rows and rows of cardboard boxes filled to the brim with merchandise. What makes Off the Truck Liquidators different from other liquidators is; instead of selling pallets of items which most liquidators do, they sell individual items to the public. Some days you'll find really good things, other days not so much, and other days you'll find things you wouldn't expect. Learn more about Off the Truck Liquidators here.

SWEETWATER, Fla. – It’s the busiest shopping day of the year, and at Dolphin Mall, that means Sweetwater police have been busy, too. Officers confirmed they arrested four people on Black Friday -- three for shoplifting and one person for inappropriate touching. Body camera footage shows officers approaching a man in the mall. “The subject took off on officers, actually pushing one of our officers out of the way so that he can flee,” Officer Jonathan Arche said. After trying unsuccessfully to find parking at Sawgrass Mills on Friday morning, they regrouped and came to Dolphin Mall, hoping crowds would be minimal after so many got an early start on Thanksgiving.

Police make multiple arrests at Dolphin Mall on Black FridayPublished: November 29, 2019, 11:21 pmSouth Florida shoppers hit the malls looking for those Black Friday deals. For many, it's the unofficial start to the holiday season, but police say several people were looking for merchandise with no plans to pay.

SUNRISE, Fla. – Shoppers descended on Sawgrass Mills as early as 6 a.m., an hour before the mall opened, to look for the best Black Friday deals. Coach and Kate Spade are among several stores at the mall using a controlled entry method to safety manage the large crowds. When they leave, other customers waiting in line get their turn. “I’ve been waiting for about an hour and a half at Kate Spade because I love my beautiful wife,” said Anthony DeGraaf, who was shopping for an anniversary present. It’s the thought that counts.”Sawgrass Mills is staying open for Black Friday shoppers until 10 p.m.Sawgrass Mills Mall, 12801 W. Sunrise Blvd., Sunrise, www.simon.com/mall/sawgrass-mills

“Buy Nothing Day” -- ever heard of it?

Once the turkey is packed up in leftover containers and the pumpkin pie is all gone, it's time to get in your car and do some shopping, because Black Friday deals are here, and they're better than ever. There are so many shopping options on Black Friday, so we decided to help you out and collect some of the best deals. Since so many stores have a massive number of deals, we just linked to their Black Friday websites below, so you can see all your options. Bed, Bath & Beyond: Opens at 6 a.m.Best Buy: Many stores open at 8 a.m., although we did find some variation here depending on location. Buy: Many stores open at 8 a.m., although we did find some variation here depending on location.

Whether you run low on a key ingredient next Thursday or you're going to be gearing up ahead of Black Friday, we get it: You need to know what stores will be open. We can't speak for all stores, but we've gathered a list of some of the major retailers and their hours. Meijer: Will be open for their normal hours of operation Thursday -- and the vast majority of Meijer stores are open 24 hours. Walmart -- Will open at 6 p.m. Thursday and stay open through Friday. Michaels: Opens at 6 p.m. Thursday (through midnight) with Black Friday deals starting at 7 a.m.Sears -- Opens at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Target said Tuesday that it would hire more than 130,000 temporary workers for its stores and distribution centers. UPS also announced plans Monday to hire around 100,000 holiday workers, roughly the same number as last year. And Amazon said it would announce its holiday hiring plans in the coming weeks. Target will pay $13 an hour to seasonal workers for the first time and offer them discounts at stores. The escalating trade war and the growing possibility of a recession have not changed retailers' hiring plans.

- Walmart has removed about 1,000 third-party items from its website in the wake of two mass shootings after determining the products violate company policy, a company spokesperson told CNN. A recent review focused on gun-related items after 31 people were killed in mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, earlier this month. Last week, Walmart pulled displays of violent video games in its stores. At least 31 people were killed in separate shootings earlier this month in an El Paso Walmart and outside a strip of entertainment venues in Dayton. The 21-year-old suspect in the El Paso shooting surrendered to police on the day of the attack.

If years past have been any indication, there will be a LOT of hype about Prime Day. Every year it seems to be a little different, but Prime Day is typically bigger and better each year, and its held in mid-July. Prime Music, Prime Reading, Prime Book Box if you have kids -- we just found out about this while researching this article and signed up immediately. Wait, Prime DAY or Prime Days? Why do I keep hearing about Prime Day launches?For a limited time, new products will be released just to Prime members.

Check out the store hours for this year's Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales as announced by major retailers. Note that hours may vary by location (most notably due to state laws in Maine, Rhode Island and Massachusetts), so be sure to check your local store. Hide Caption