Bargain hunters ventured out in chilly weather on Black Friday, only to discover that many US retailers offered smaller price markdowns this year amid tight supplies.
Covid fears and fewer “doorbuster” sales thinned crowds the day after the Thanksgiving holiday, which kicks off the year-end holiday shopping season.
On the same day, the World Health Organization named the newly identified Omicron variant of the coronavirus as a “variant of concern”, triggering worldwide alarm and a selloff in the US stock market.
Stores on Black Friday had the lowest level of clearance goods for sale in five years or more, Cowen analysts said in a note. Many shoppers chose to pick up merchandise curbside rather than venturing inside stores.
Consumers had spent
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