Thin crowds of inflation-weary shoppers hunted for Black Friday deals, with foot traffic remaining sparse in many malls across the country as Americans instead flocked online, where they spent a record $9.12 billion.
Around 166 million people were planning to shop from Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday through this coming “Cyber Monday,” according to the National Retail Federation, almost 8 million more than last year.
But many physical stores were less busy than usual on Black Friday, with sporadic rain in parts of the country keeping people away, while some shoppers said they were more careful with their spending, making targeted purchases rather than impulsive buys….