Small crowds, fewer deals, no chaos, shoppers say Black Friday is nothing like it used to be this year



Reports are coming in from all over the country that the long lines, buzzing crowds, and general chaos typical of Black Friday shopping is ... nearly non-existent this year.

While people are showing up at retail stores to shop in-person in far greater numbers than last year — before COVID-19 vaccines were widely available — shoppers and local news outlets posting to social media reported shorter lines and less chaos this Friday.

Goood #BlackFriday morning, Orlando! The shopping here began just a few ago, at 5! Not a huge crowd, counted 31 in line just moments before open. @MyNews13pic.twitter.com/ZVzvvtJyfx
— Ashleigh Mills (@Ashleigh Mills) 1637922072

Popular big box retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy, which are offering large sales and Black Friday deals today, are seeing moderate crowds, but nothing like the stampedes featured in viral videos in years past.

Black Friday shopping lines are forming outside many stores in Baton Rouge. We\u2019re live at Best Buy where doors just opened at 5 a.m.pic.twitter.com/WRaNih7Wrq
— Cali Hubbard (@Cali Hubbard) 1637925300
Happy #BlackFriday from @Walmart in Elk Grove! Here\u2019s what it looked like right when the doors opened at 5am. No campers this year but one of the first people in line told me he got here at 1am! He said this line was nothing compared to the past 12 years. @ABC10pic.twitter.com/hi8iohkFxY
— Lena Howland (@Lena Howland) 1637934362

Shoppers that spoke to Insider said they were able to get in and out of retail stores quickly, with one claiming they found what they wanted and were out in under 10 minutes. Another man said there were about 100 people in line at a Walmart store in Harrisonville, Missouri and that he was able to get in and out in about 40 minutes.

Right side of Walmart, long line. Left side of Walmart, I stroll up and the gentlemen unlocks the door. I casually walk in, walked to the deals table\u2026 got the super duper cheap air pods. Paid. Walked out. Everyone was super nice. Zero chaos
— Geoff (@Geoff) 1637926621

"It's so empty and bare, which is kind of nice. There's not crazy people, although we did just see a lady with a stroller full of bags and no child," said Tabitha Turner, a shopper who spoke to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about her experience at the North East Mall in Hurst, Texas.

"The crowds are much easier. Lines are simple, which is not quite as fun. I always enjoyed the people fighting over parking spaces and yelling at people for the last toy … We're missing the hustle and bustle of all the crazy people … It was a blast and it was fun to have to deal with all the craziness."

Customers in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania shared similar stories with WOLF-TV.

"Very calm. There is no traffic even. Which is amazing cause usually you see a lot of that, but no traffic. Like I said 2 minutes in line at Walmart, but I was right in the store able to get everything, no chaos," said Tina Merrifield of Jessup.

Some shoppers expressed disappointment with the quality of the deals this year, or with the unavailability of certain items because of ongoing supply chain issues. Many retailers warned customers in recent weeks to get their shopping done early because popular items would not be available. In one video, a worker at Best Buy told those waiting in line to buy the Playtation 5 early; Friday morning the store was out-of-stock.

"Black Friday is a total bust," complained Vince Langman of Chicago on Twitter. "The deals suck and there's literally more workers at Target than shoppers."

Wow Black Friday is a total bust \nThe deals suck and there's literally more workers at Target than shoppers \nNot one person in linepic.twitter.com/D9EIZI4C1n
— Vince Langman (@Vince Langman) 1637940259

While there may be fewer discounts this year, other shoppers were happy to miss the typical Black Friday crowds.

"I don't want to get mixed up in any of that chaos," said Hannah Smith, of Iowa, while shopping on Thursday.

Federal agents reportedly erecting 'non-scalable' fence around White House ahead of possible Election Day unrest



Federal agents are set to erect a "non-scalable" fence around the White House, according to reports from CNN and NBC News, in what appears to be anticipation of possible Election Day unrest.

What are the details?

According to NBC News White House correspondent Geoff Bennett, agents will reportedly begin erecting the barrier outside of the White House ahead of Tuesday's nationwide election.

Bennett shared news of the report on Twitter on Sunday, writing, "The White House on lockdown: A federal law enforcement source tells NBC that beginning tomorrow, crews will build a 'non-scalable' fence to secure the WH complex, Ellipse, and Lafayette Square."

Bennett added, "250 National Guardsmen have been put on standby, reporting to Metro Police officials."

The White House on lockdown: A federal law enforcement source tells NBC that beginning tomorrow, crews will build a… https://t.co/khCvT09Qi5
— Geoff Bennett (@Geoff Bennett)1604284771.0

CNN reported Monday that "[t]he fence, the same type that was put up during protests this summer, will encompass the Ellipse and Lafayette Square. It will go down 15th Street to Constitution Avenue and then over to 17th Street. The fence will then run up to H Street and across by Lafayette, and then come down 15th Street."

'Increased militia activity'

Business Insider reported Monday that stores across major U.S. cities have also begun the process of boarding up windows and fortifying entrances and exits in apparent anticipation of any forthcoming Election Day violence.

As highlighted by The Hill, an October YouGov poll reported that a majority of voters reportedly expected to see a "rise in violence following the elections," including more than half of both Republicans and Democrats.

The outlet added, "A study released in mid-October also warned that five states — Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Oregon — were at risk to experience increased militia activity ahead of the elections and afterward."

The report, released by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project along with MilitiaWatch, found that states including California, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia were at a "moderate risk" to see increased active militias for the same time period.

Crowd boos, chants 'vote him out' as President Trump pays his respects to late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg



President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were greeted by an antagonistic crowd Thursday as they paid their respects to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The crowd assembled outside the Supreme Court, where Ginsburg is lying in repose, and while at first they were quiet as the president bowed his head, soon they began to shout and jeer. Video from this morning captures loud booing and chants of "Vote him out" and "honor her wish" from the crowd.

President Trump & Melania pay their respects to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at her casket on the steps of the Supre… https://t.co/Fbf098Wd5E
— JERRY DUNLEAVY (@JERRY DUNLEAVY)1600956968.0
Chants of “Vote him out!” and “Honor her wish!” outside the Supreme Court as the president arrives https://t.co/lys9EqBuNs
— Geoff Bennett (@Geoff Bennett)1600955908.0

The campaign account for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took advantage of the crowd's jeers to call on voters to "make a plan to VOTE HIM OUT."

Make a plan to VOTE HIM OUT 👉🏻 https://t.co/1JZe3sxeSd https://t.co/0ZcWl0QYx8
— Nancy Pelosi (@Nancy Pelosi)1600959271.0

The president and first lady exited after the crowd began booing.

According to NPR, Ginsburg dictated her dying wish to her granddaughter, telling her, "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed." President Trump and Senate Republicans plan to exercise their constitutional authority and move forward with a Supreme Court nominee despite Ginsburg's last wishes.

Ginsburg, who died Friday at 87, was laid in repose at the Supreme Court Wednesday, the first of a three-day series of events to give Americans the chance to say their final farewells to the liberal justice icon, The Hill reported. She will become the first woman in American history to lie in state at the Capitol on Friday and only the second Supreme Court justice to be so honored.

A memorial service for Ginsburg's family, friends, and fellow members of the Supreme Court was held inside the court before public viewing commenced Wednesday.

"It has been said that Ruth wanted to be an opera virtuoso, but became a rock star instead," Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts said. "But she chose the law. Subjected to discrimination in law school and the job market because she was a woman, Ruth would grow to become a leading advocate fighting such discrimination in court. She was not an opera star, but she found her stage right behind me, in our courtroom. There, she won famous victories that helped move our nation closer to equal justice under law, to the extent that women are now a majority in the law schools, not simply a handful."

"Her voice in court and in our conference room was soft. But when she spoke, people listened," Roberts said.

President Trump plans to announce his nominee to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Rose Garden of the White House.

"We are going to be having a very exciting Saturday at five o'clock in the Rose Garden, where I'll be putting forth my nominee for Supreme Court Justice," Trump told reporters Wednesday. "And I think it will be a great nominee, a brilliant nominee. As you know, it's a woman. We brought it down to five women. It's time for a woman to — to be chosen, with everything that's happened and with Justice Ginsburg's passing."