Shoppers begin annual stampede as Black Friday dawns

Salesforce, the digital services provider, estimated that e-commerce spending worldwide would reach $7.4 billion in the US

Shoppers around the world descended upon stores and went online on Friday to take advantage of Black Friday deal offers.

European retailers have followed the US tradition of making the day after US Thanksgiving the kick-off to the Christmas shopping season.

The event has become a staple of the Irish retail calendar in recent years. A total of €250 million was forecast to be spent by Irish shoppers, split between high-street retailers and online, according ...