Retailers’ Thanksgiving Deals Cut Black Friday Sales

Thanksgiving Day openings and midnight deals at retailers from Target Corp. (TGT) to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) drew U.S. shoppers out earlier than ever, trimming spending on Black Friday at stores. Online shopping surged.

Sales on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. fell 1.8 percent from last year to $11.2 billion, according to a report yesterday from ShopperTrak, a Chicago-based researcher. That compares with a 6.6 percent gain a year earlier. Online shopping on Black Friday rose 26 percent to exceed $1 billion for the first time, research company ComScore Inc. said today.