The madness of Black Friday has struck shoppers around the world as some retailers offer large discounts on their products to boost sales before Christmas.
Scenes of chaos filmed at stores and malls from as far afield as Portugal and South Africa have gone viral on social media as bargain-hunters hope to save money on presents for family.
While the scene initially seems orderly, shoppers charged into the store as soon as guards step aside, knocking down displays, grabbing at products and filling the aisles.
É a loucura na Worten de Matosinhos!! ISTO É BLACKOUT!!!!
Posted by Worten on Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Phillemon Ndashe, a student, said it was “crazy stuff” but added: “I couldn’t leave empty-handed.
“I managed to secure three camping chairs and a cooler box.
“We went there as a team with my group of friends so one had to stand at the cashier while others ran for the items. It was like a jungle in there.”
So i pulled up at grove mall midnight this is what it looked like, and a lot of people left empty handed ?? pic.twitter.com/7CFAd64EHX
— The Realest Ndashe? (@realestndashe) November 23, 2018
The same scene played out at the Game store in Potchefstroom, near Johannesburg, South Africa.
One video showed shoppers whooping and screaming, climbing over trolleys and barriers to get to the front of the crowd.
Chaos at midnight when #Game in #Potchefstroom opens for #BlackFriday! pic.twitter.com/1p42CtMoJ5
— Ben Oberholzer (@benoberholzer) November 23, 2018
In the UK, shopping centres appeared relatively empty as many consumers went online for their purchases.
Elsewhere, a counter-movement to mass consumerism encouraged people to keep their pennies in their pockets with the hashtag #BuyNothingDay.
This is not a fad.
It’s a starting point. In the spirit of dissent, let’s all treat this Friday as the cold-turkey kickoff to continuing to change our habits.
Why? Our children’s and grandchildren’s futures are at stake. #buynothingday Find out more: https://t.co/LeWtiqsG4i pic.twitter.com/fvHyuSs1ye
— Adbusters (@Adbusters) November 21, 2018
The GMB union used the day to stage a protest against “awful” conditions at Amazon warehouses.
A Freedom of Information request from the union discovered 600 ambulances had been called to Amazon warehouses in the last three years.
“Workers are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious and being taken away in ambulances,” they said in a tweet.
We’re staging #BlackFriday protests across the UK in anger at the awful conditions people work under at @Amazon warehouses.
Workers are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious and being taken away in ambulances.
Make sure people see this. Hit retweet ?#AmazonWeAreNotRobots pic.twitter.com/pBT1ksFgdG
— GMB UNION (@GMB_union) November 23, 2018
Richard Hyman, a retail industry adviser, said the concept of Black Friday was “bonkers” for UK retailers, adding: “The whole thing is smoke and mirrors.”
Mr Hyman said: “It’s encouraging people to buy at a discount when most retailers are not structured to sell at a discount.
“Black Friday sucks business forward from Christmas at a discounted margin, it’s really not very clever.”
