Black Friday was already well underway before many awoke this morning.
The traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season has become a two-day affair, with more stores opening before people put down their turkey legs on Thanksgiving. There's good reason for the creep; businesses know shoppers will only spend so much, and they want the first crack at those holiday budgets.
Still, millions of Americans are expected to head out in search of steep discounts today. TheNational Retail Federation forecasts holiday sales will grow 4.1 percent to $616.9 billion ? the biggest jump since 2011.
It's a make-or-break time for many retailers, which on average get 20 percent of their annual sales during the holiday shopping season. Already, retailers have resorted to steep discounting to lure shoppers.
Here's a look at what's happening this Black Friday.
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Ferguson Protests Hit Stores
Dozens of protesters interrupted holiday shopping to speak out about a grand jury's decision not to indict the white officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, a black teenager.
Demonstrations took place at a Target and multiple Wal-Mart stores in the St. Louis, Missouri, area, according to Johnetta Elzie, who had been tweeting and posting videos of the protests.
Protesters spent a few minutes at each store, shouting inside as law enforcement stood watch. There was no immediate word of arrests. The protests began Thanksgiving night, and more are expected Friday.
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Some Quiet Time
At around 5:30 a.m. Friday, a Target store in the suburb of Mission, Kansas, was mostly empty.
Bridget McNabb, 55, was disappointed when a worker told her the $119 deal for a TV she wanted had sold out shortly after the store opened the evening before.
In Manchester, Connecticut, a Wal-Mart store was also quiet around 5:30 a.m. A few security guards stood on the sidewalk outside the front doors. The nearby Shoppes at Buckland Hills had few customers as well at around 6:30 a.m.
Shopper Rachel Cormier was looking at clothing for one of her four grandchildren. She said the economy isn't an issue.
"I'm fortunate because my husband and I are both employed," she said.
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U.K. Gets Black Friday, Shoving Included
Black Friday is becoming a tradition in the United Kingdom, too, and businesses there are finding the shopping derby can lead to chaos.
Early Friday morning, police were called to help maintain security at some supermarkets and shopping outlets that offered deep discounts starting at midnight.
"This created situations where we had to deal with crushing, disorder and disputes between customers," said Peter Fahy, police chief for greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester Police said there were two arrests as police closed some stores to prevent more severe problems. One woman was injured by a falling television set.
Online retailer Amazon is believed to have introduced the concept of Black Friday to the U.K. four years ago, with more businesses joining every year since.
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Crowd Control
Back in the U.S., businesses are taking steps to keep crowds under control. Such efforts were stepped up after 2008, when a Wal-Mart worker died after a stampede of shoppers.
