Retailers arenB次元官网网址檛 just ushering the official start of the holiday season with the usual expanded hours and fat discounts on big TVs and toys.

TheyB次元官网网址檙e offering new ways for shoppers to get deals online and in the store easier and faster in the age of instant gratification.

Walmart introduced a digital map on its mobile app to make it easier for shoppers to find an itemB次元官网网址檚 exact location in the store. KohlB次元官网网址檚 has a new feature on its mobile app that lets customers take photos of products anywhere and find similar items at the department store. And customers, frustrated with long checkout lines, can check out at Walmart and other stores with a salesperson right on the spot.

Shoppers are also facing new free shipping options. Target leapt in front of Walmart and Amazon to offer two-day free shipping for the holidays without any minimum purchases. Online leader Amazon followed, dropping its $25 minimum. Walmart is still sticking with its $35 threshold.

B次元官网网址淩etailers are pulling out all the stops to get shoppers earlier with online deals and using online to push shoppers in the store,B次元官网网址� said Marshal Cohen, chief industry adviser at the NPD Group, a market research group. B次元官网网址淚 think overall spending will be decent.B次元官网网址�

MacyB次元官网网址檚 was pushing such door buster deals as 70 per cent discounts on cookware and 40 per cent off of boots. As of early morning Friday, MacyB次元官网网址檚 Herald Square, which opened all night, had a steady stream of shoppers, mostly tourists.

B次元官网网址淲e got here at 4:30 a.m. We couldnB次元官网网址檛 go to sleep so we went shopping,B次元官网网址� said Shane Wilson, who arrived in Manhattan from London on Wednesday. She was buying shoes and boots at 40 per cent off. She said her next stop was BloomingdaleB次元官网网址檚.

Nicole Battini, from Bologna, Italy showed up with a friend at MacyB次元官网网址檚 at 5 a.m. after a night of clubbing. Battini, who arrived in New York earlier this week, was looking for shoes, a handbag and a coat. Then she said she was going to sleep.

B次元官网网址淭omorrow, we go back to clubbing,B次元官网网址� she said.

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Still, Black Friday isnB次元官网网址檛 what it used to be. It has morphed from a single day when people got up early to score door busters into a whole month of deals. Many major stores, including Walmart, Best Buy and MacyB次元官网网址檚, start their blockbuster deals on Thanksgiving evening, which has consequently thinned out the crowds.

Black Friday is nonetheless expected to be the biggest shopping day of the year, according to ShopperTrak, a technology company. And analysts say Black Friday sales should be even bigger than a year ago. They are expected to hit $23 billion on Friday, up from $21 billion during the same year-ago period, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse, which tracks all forms of payment, including cash.

With the jobless rate at a five-decade low of 3.7 per cent and consumer confidence at an 18-year high, analysts project healthy sales increases for November and December. The National Retail Federation, the nationB次元官网网址檚 largest retail trade group, is expecting holiday retail sales in November and December B次元官网网址� excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants B次元官网网址� to increase as much as 4.8 per cent over 2017 for a total of $720.89 billion. The sales growth marks a slowdown from last yearB次元官网网址檚 5.3 per cent, which was the largest gain since 2010. But the figure is still healthy.

Adobe Analytics, which analyzes visits to retail websites, predicts a 15 per cent increase in online sales to $124.1 billion for November and December.

Adobe said late Thursday that Thanksgiving should reach a record $3.7 billion in online retail sales, up 29 per cent from the same year ago period. As of 5 p.m. Thursday, shoppers spent $1.75 billion online, a nearly 29 per cent increase from a year ago. It expects $38.0 billion will have been spent online between Nov. 1 through Thursday, a nearly 19 per cent increase from a year ago.

Target said early Friday morning that more shoppers shopped using the Target app, ordering more than double compared to last year. Overall, shoppers bought such big ticket items as TVs, iPads, and Apple Watches. Among the most popular toy deals were Lego, L.O.L. Surprise from MGA Entertainment and MattelB次元官网网址檚 Barbie. It said gamers picked up video game consoles like Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.

Amazon in the U.S. is expected to outgrow the market and capture up to half of all e-commerce sales by the end of the year, according to consulting firm Bain & Co.

Joseph Pisani And Anne DB次元官网网址橧nnocenzio, The Associated Press

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