Slashed prices caused chaos across America as desperate shoppers battled to snap up the latest deals.
Shocking brawls broke out in America as desperate shoppers fought to snap up Black Friday bargains – as seen in the footage above.
Violence has kicked off in several stores across the United States as shoppers battle for the best deals the day after Thanksgiving.
Two men were seen throwing at least a dozen punches at a mall in Louisville, Kentucky, while the crowd stood by watching.
Another man joins in before several tried to break it up.
Elsewhere a woman was filmed ripping a vegetable steamer from the arms of a tiny child in Saginaw, Michigan.
A swarm of shoppers rush for the in-demand steamer and end up toppling on top of the boxes in the excitement.
As everyone frantically tries to snatch a box, a little boy managed to take one.
Then, out of nowhere, a woman appears and snatches it right out of his hands.
The boy’s mum is furious and – while holding two vegetable steamers that she has picked up – she tries to pinch the other woman’s box too.
At Florence Mall in Florence, Kentucky a huge brawl kicked off involving a dozen or so youths.
A police officer broke up the fight, as shown in the footage, which lasts at least 30 seconds. It’s unclear what sparked the fight.
Meanwhile in the UK, we’re being treated to a much calmer Black Friday as the expected hordes of shoppers did not materialise.
Stores had taken extra precautions this year, after warnings from police that firms needed to ensure they had enough security staff on in case of any trouble.
This year the Bullring in Birmingham was set up a huge queuing system inside the shopping centre – which remained empty.
The doors at intu Braehead shopping mall, Glasgow, opened at 5.30am but only a crowd of around 30 people were waiting to get inside.
Even Oxford Street in London was surprisingly empty of the usual crowds.
No-one, aside from journalists, turned up to Boots’ flagship store on Oxford Street as its doors opened at midnight.
Rather than crowds of shoppers bundling into shops the minute doors were opened, customers were seen walking calmly into the stores.
Others waited their turn as security staff limited the number heading in at any one time.
Stores had taken extra precautions this year, after warnings from police, but it looks like it was not needed as shoppers took to mobile devices to take advantage of the discounts.
Shoppers who got to Cardiff’s Western Avenue Tesco store early included one dressed as a chicken, and another who left disappointed after being told she could not purchase the basic items – a cucumber and a loaf of bread – she had turned up to buy.
One man said his wife told him not to come back without a new TV with him, while three students told how they planned to carry their newly bought TV on the 30-minute journey home.
Drudge was calling it #BlackFridayMatters. It’d be funny if it wasn’t so pathetically barbaric. Although there were fights to be seen across the states, the overall turnout for this Black Friday is meh. Lines were pretty thin. That is because we are in a depression, many are out of work and a lot of retailers have taken their sales online to avoid the circus. It’s just a national embarrassment to watch grown people punch each other out over vegetable steamers. It’s just one more example of how Americans go nuts for products which they don’t really need and can’t really afford. ‘Tis the season folks – get a grip.