Black Friday: Crowds grow, but sales are a question

Lots of holiday shoppers hit the stores, such as Toys R Us in New York's Times Square, on Thanksgiving night.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- There were more shoppers in the nation's malls and big-box stores on Black Friday than there were last year, according to a report issued Saturday. But retailers still aren't sure that starting the holiday shopping season on Thanksgiving night proved successful.

ShopperTrak, which measures and analyzes foot traffic at more than 50,000 retail locations nationwide, says Black Friday store visits climbed 3.5% from last year to more than 307.67 million.

But Black Friday retail sales fell 1.8% to $11.2 billion, the firm said.

"While foot traffic did increase on Friday, those Thursday deals attracted some of the spending that's usually meant for Friday," said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak's founder, in a statement.

ShopperTrak said foot traffic rose in most of the nation except for the West, where it was down more than 11%.

"Black Friday shopping continues to expand into Thanksgiving Day and will impact the way we look at all of the 'Black' weekend results, since more shopping hours allows for more shopping visits and a smoothing of sales across all of the days," said Martin.

Shoppers took advantage of early Thanksgiving night openings by retailers such as Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Target (TGT, Fortune 500), Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and Toys R Us.

Related: Black Friday shoppers out in full force

"By opening even earlier, the retailers have been able to attract a broader spectrum of consumers to participate in Black Friday -- not everyone is willing to wake up at 4 a.m.," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group. "They definitely got a lot more business early and upfront."

Shoppers started lining up at the Sears at North Point Mall in Alpharetta, Ga., around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, and by the time the retailer opened, there was a crowd of about 500 people, said Nick Nicolosi, the mall's general manager. When the clock struck midnight and other stores opened, Nicolosi estimated that about 5,000 people were waiting to storm the stores -- the biggest Black Friday crowd North Point has seen since it began hosting its Rockin Shoppin Eve event five years ago.

La Plaza Mall in McAllen, Texas, had to use its off-duty police officers and security to control traffic outside of stores.

"Many stores including Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) had to close their store entrances temporarily as they had reached capacity with hundreds of shoppers waiting to enter the stores," said Isabel Rodriguez-Vera, area director of marketing.

Related: Cyber Monday is already here

Not everyone was willing to wait in line. Online sales soared over the two-day shopping period, climbing more than 17% from last year on Thanksgiving and nearly 21% on Black Friday, according to IBM Benchmark. Sales made from mobile devices grew by nearly two-thirds over 2011.

A long list of online retailers -- including Wal-Mart, Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) and The Disney Store -- unveiled "pre-Black Friday deals" even before Thanksgiving.

"We've absolutely seen this whole weekend turn into one big promotional event," said Jay Henderson, strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce. "Black Friday deals are no longer just for the [brick-and-mortar] store, and Cyber Monday deals are no longer just for Monday."

However, the initial surge is likely to be temporary. By Sunday morning, Cohen expects shopper traffic to fall back to normal pre-holiday sales levels. "There are more hours to shop, but consumers don't have more relatives or more money in their pocket, so once all the dust settles, we won't see too much growth overall," he said.

Julianne Pepitone and Hibah Yousuf contributed to this article.

First Published: November 24, 2012: 6:12 PM ET

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Stocks: Focus back on U.S. economy

Click the chart for more stock market data

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- As confidence builds over lawmakers' ability to reach a deal on the "fiscal cliff," investors will turn their attention to U.S. economic reports on the housing market, manufacturing and consumer data this week.

"The U.S. stock market has recovered a little from its post-election hangover, as expectations of a compromise over the fiscal cliff have grown," said John Higgins, senior markets economist at Capital Economics.

Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended the week up more than 3%, racking up five straight days of gains. The Dow closed above 13,000 for the first time since the election.

Two broad measures of the U.S. economy are due out this week. The first comes on Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve releases its latest snapshot of economic conditions across its 12 districts. Last month, the Beige Book showed that economic activity had expanded at a modest pace.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

An estimate of the nation's gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic health, is due out on Thursday. A first estimate, released in October, showed the economy had grown at a 2% rate, thanks to an increase in defense spending, an improving housing sector and stronger consumer spending.

This week, investors also get a feel for the pulse of the American consumer, a key gauge during this time of the year, when retailers are in the midst of the holiday shopping season. Consumer spending drives about 70% of the U.S. economy and in play this week are consumer confidence, personal income and spending numbers.

Last month, consumer confidence rose to its highest level in four years, boosted by improvements in the job market.

Economists are expecting reports on the housing markets to boost markets again this week. Investors will have data to digest on housing prices from the Case-Shiller 20-city index, mortgage rates, and pending home sales.

The housing market has been a bright spot in an otherwise slowly recovering economy. In the last month, existing home sales, home prices and new construction showed upticks. The nation's extremely favorable mortgage rates also sank even lower last week, setting records for both the 30-year and 15-year fixed rate loans.

Investors will also get a look at U.S. manufacturing this week from reports on durable orders and the Chicago purchasing managers index.

Global manufacturing data has shown a mixed picture this month. China's manufacturing industry exhibited signs of improvement in November. But a report last week showed that the European manufacturing sector was contracting, and eurozone service industry companies are more pessimistic about their prospects than at any time since early 2009.

First Published: November 25, 2012: 11:52 AM ET

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Black Friday shopping hits a new record

Total spending over Black Friday weekend hit a record $59.1 billion, up from $52.4 billion last year. The number of shoppers in store and online also hit a new record.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Apparently, full stomachs after Thanksgiving dinners get people in the mood for some real shopping.

Customers flocked in to early store openings on Thanksgiving day to scoop up "doorbuster" deals. A record 247 million shoppers visited stores and websites in the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday weekend this year, up 9% from 226 million last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation released Sunday.

Individual shoppers also shelled out more money -- spending $423 this weekend, up from $398 last year. Total spending over the four-day weekend reached a record $59.1 billion, a 13% increase from $52.4 billion last year, according to the NRF.

The survey found that retailers' push to open stores earlier appealed to customers. Stores like Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Toys R Us, Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500), that ushered in customers just as Thanksgiving meals wrapped up, saw a boost. About 10% of this weekend's shoppers were out at stores by 8 p.m. on Thursday and an estimated 28% of weekend shoppers were at the stores by midnight, compared to 24.4% last year.

"The only way to describe the Thanksgiving openings is to call them a huge win," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. "Thanksgiving shopping has really becoming an extension of the day's activities. Whole families are going."

Related: Black Friday shoppers out in full force

In a separate survey, ShopperTrak found that the number of people shopping in stores climbed 3.5% from last year to more than 307.67 million.

Bill Martin, ShopperTrak's founder, said that traffic hasn't been this high since 2006. He said that the return to pre-recession levels indicates a real recovery in consumer behavior.

"We've seen that consumers are willing to shop a few extra stores," Martin said. "This could translate into more impulse buying and stronger sales."

But not everyone wanted to wait in line. Online sales soared more than 17% on the Thursday of Thanksgiving, followed by a nearly 21% increase on Friday over last year, according to IBM Benchmark. Sales made from mobile devices climbed by 16%, with more than 24% of consumers using mobile devices to visit a retailer's website.

The NRF had predicted that looming fears over the "fiscal cliff" and the struggling jobs market could weigh on holiday spending. That's why it estimated that holiday sales will rise by 4.1%, which is slower than the 5.6% increase last year.

Shay said that between 65% and 80% of shoppers factor overall economic conditions into holiday spending decisions. Its survey found that two thirds of shoppers will pay with cash or debit, highlighting people's aversion to taking on too much debt in a still slow-recovering economy.

But retailers are hopeful that these strong Black Friday figures set a tone for a solid season of spending ahead. The Thanksgiving shopping tradition kicks off the holiday season sales blitz, wherein stores can make up to 40% of their annual sales in the November-December period.

"A single day doesn't make up a holiday season, but if you don't start off well on that day, you have trouble catching up," Martin said.

First Published: November 25, 2012: 2:37 PM ET

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Wal-Mart protests draw hundreds nationwide

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hundreds of people -- including some employees -- have taken part in Black Friday demonstrations at Wal-Mart stores nationwide, protesting what they say is the retailer's retaliation against speaking out for better pay, fair schedules and affordable health care.

According to organizers from the union-backed group OUR Walmart, hundreds of workers and thousands of supporters rallied across 100 cities, including Landover Hills, Md., Miami, Oakland, Calif., Chicago, Danville, Ky., Dallas and Kenosha, Wis.

Wal-Mart pushed back, saying it knew of only a "few dozen" protests, and that most of the protesters were not its employees

In one of the biggest protests, nine people were arrested outside of a Paramount, Calif., Wal-Mart store for failing to disperse, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department statement. An OUR Walmart spokesman said three of those arrested were Wal-Mart workers. Those arrested were to be released without bail, unless they had previous arrest warrants.

The sheriff's department said about 1,000 people arrived by bus and private vehicles to participate in the Paramount protest, which was characterized as peaceful.

In Landover Hills, near Washington. D.C. ,organizers said about 350 people participated, although video of the event showed around 100 participants. Dawn Le, who works for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which backs OUR Walmart, would not say how many of those taking part were Wal-Mart employees.

Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), in a statement late Friday, said worker absenteeism was down more than 60% from last year.

"We had our best Black Friday ever and OUR Walmart was unable to recruit more than a small number of associates to participate in these made for TV events," said David Tovar, vice president of corporate communications, in the statement. "Press reports are now exposing what we have said all along -- the large majority of protesters aren't even Walmart workers."

Janna Pea, an OUR Wal-Mart organizer in Dallas, said about 40 workers and about 150 supporters took part in a protest Thursday night.

One of those with her was Josue Mata, who says he walked off his job as an overnight maintenance employee to protest retaliation against people who want to speak out.

"I have four kids and I don't want them to grown up in a society where people disrespect them," he said. "This is a never-ending fight and we're never going to stop."

Related: Wal-Mart: Crowded, and not everyone is smiling.

Mata said he plans to return to work for his next scheduled shift on Sunday evening.

Pea said her protesters went to four Wal-Mart stores across the Dallas area, and while they were able to picket and speak to customers at half of them, they were asked to leave immediately by police at the others.

"We were still able to talk to customers and educate them about what was going on," she said. "We saw one person who was planning to go shopping, but then didn't end up going in. Instead, they rallied with us."

Muhammed Malik, who helped organize a protest at a Miami Wal-Mart, said roughly 70 workers participated in their hour-long demonstration Thursday night. He said one worker walked off his shift as he saw others rallying outside.

Wal-Mart has denied that it has retaliated against protesting workers, and said Friday that it has offered special holiday discounts to its employees for their efforts this season.

The protests were limited in scope, occurring at a handful of the company's approximately 4,000 U.S. stores. One employee at a store near Pittsburgh told CNNMoney he had heard of the protests only through the media.

Related: Black Friday shoppers out in full force

In an effort to stop the protests, Wal-Mart filed a complaint last week with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming that the demonstrations violated labor laws.

The retailer said the actions have disrupted business, and that the workers' ongoing actions violate the National Labor Relations Act, which prohibits picketing for any period over 30 days without filing a petition to form a union.

On Tuesday, OUR Walmart filed its own charge with the federal agency, claiming that Wal-Mart tried to deter workers from participating in the protests and interfered with their right to speak up.

But the NLRB was not able to rule in time or issue an injunction. Nancy Cleeland, a spokeswoman for the NLRB, said the complaint is too complex to make a ruling so soon.

Despite the talk of the protests, Wal-Mart reported larger Thanksgiving and Black Friday crowds than last year. As of Friday morning, the company said it had processed nearly 10 million register transactions.

Shares of Wal-Mart rose 1.9% in Friday trading.

First Published: November 23, 2012: 11:48 AM ET

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Cyber Monday starts early this year

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Post-Thanksgiving online discounts were once relegated to Cyber Monday -- but these days, websites are launching deals even before Black Friday. And the resulting shopping frenzy is expected to set records.

IBM Benchmark reported total online sales for Black Friday were up nearly 21% from last year. On Thanksgiving, sales rose more than 17% compared to 2011. Black Friday was the stronger of the two days, eclipsing Thanksgiving by 4:10 p.m. ET.

And a long list of retailers -- including Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) and Ann Taylor (ANN) -- unveiled "pre-Black Friday deals" even before Thanksgiving. Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) posted its one-day online shopping discounts on Black Friday, as did beauty brand MAC Cosmetics.

"We've absolutely seen this whole weekend turn into one big promotional event," said Jay Henderson, strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce. "Black Friday deals are no longer just for the [brick-and-mortar] store, and Cyber Monday deals are no longer just for Monday."

Related: 7 apps for holiday deals

Cyber Monday's original appeal, as the first weekday after Thanksgiving, was access to quick Internet speeds while at work. But now broadband at home is ubiquitous, and consumers can also shop on a slew of mobile devices.

And so retailers' online deals stretch well ahead of Cyber Monday -- in some cases, nearly a full week before.

"Retailers are trying to draw consumers in earlier, and one way to do that is to stagger the deals: Pre-Thanksgiving, some on Thanksgiving Day, another set over the weekend, and finally the big bang to close it out on Cyber Monday," Henderson said.

Mobile devices have become increasingly important during that week before Cyber Monday. The number of consumers using their mobile device to make a purchase on Black Friday this year increased by nearly two-thirds from 2011, IBM data show.

Apple's iPad made up nearly 10% of online shopping traffic on Black Friday this year, according to IBM, while the iPhone brought in almost 9% and Android devices comprised 5.5%.

And IBM said shoppers are taking advantage of the technology to find better deals. Despite spending more overall, the average online order fell 4.7% to $181.22, and the number of items in each order decreased 12% to 5.6.

Retailers are taking note. Companies like Macy's (M, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500) developed special Black Friday mobile apps featuring exclusive deals and store maps.

Still, despite the expanded schedule, Cyber Monday itself remains an important part of the holiday shopping season.

Related: Holiday shopping forecast: Stronger, and predictably crazy

Andrew Lipsman, an industry analyst at data tracking firm ComScore, said he expects sales for the one-day Cyber Monday shopping event to be around $1.5 billion this year. That's up from his calculations of $1.3 billion in 2011.

It will be a few weeks before full details on Thanksgiving week's sales are made clear, but last year both Black Friday and Cyber Monday broke records. Total spending over the four-day weekend after Thanksgiving 2011 reached a record $52.4 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.

Black Friday 2012 was shaping up to be robust, with shoppers turning out even on Thanksgiving Day at stores including Toys R Us and Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500).

First Published: November 23, 2012: 12:08 PM ET

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Black Friday: Crowds grow, but sales are a question

Lots of holiday shoppers hit the stores, such as Toys R Us in New York's Times Square, on Thanksgiving night.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- There were more shoppers in the nation's malls and big-box stores on Black Friday than there were last year, according to a report issued Saturday. But retailers still aren't sure that starting the holiday shopping season on Thanksgiving night proved successful.

ShopperTrak, which measures and analyzes foot traffic at more than 50,000 retail locations nationwide, says Black Friday store visits climbed 3.5% from last year to more than 307.67 million.

But Black Friday retail sales fell 1.8% to $11.2 billion, the firm said.

"While foot traffic did increase on Friday, those Thursday deals attracted some of the spending that's usually meant for Friday," said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak's founder, in a statement.

ShopperTrak said foot traffic rose in most of the nation except for the West, where it was down more than 11%.

"Black Friday shopping continues to expand into Thanksgiving Day and will impact the way we look at all of the 'Black' weekend results, since more shopping hours allows for more shopping visits and a smoothing of sales across all of the days," said Martin.

Shoppers took advantage of early Thanksgiving night openings by retailers such as Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Target (TGT, Fortune 500), Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and Toys R Us.

Related: Black Friday shoppers out in full force

"By opening even earlier, the retailers have been able to attract a broader spectrum of consumers to participate in Black Friday -- not everyone is willing to wake up at 4 a.m.," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group. "They definitely got a lot more business early and upfront."

Shoppers started lining up at the Sears at North Point Mall in Alpharetta, Ga., around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, and by the time the retailer opened, there was a crowd of about 500 people, said Nick Nicolosi, the mall's general manager. When the clock struck midnight and other stores opened, Nicolosi estimated that about 5,000 people were waiting to storm the stores -- the biggest Black Friday crowd North Point has seen since it began hosting its Rockin Shoppin Eve event five years ago.

La Plaza Mall in McAllen, Texas, had to use its off-duty police officers and security to control traffic outside of stores.

"Many stores including Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) had to close their store entrances temporarily as they had reached capacity with hundreds of shoppers waiting to enter the stores," said Isabel Rodriguez-Vera, area director of marketing.

Related: Cyber Monday is already here

Not everyone was willing to wait in line. Online sales soared over the two-day shopping period, climbing more than 17% from last year on Thanksgiving and nearly 21% on Black Friday, according to IBM Benchmark. Sales made from mobile devices grew by nearly two-thirds over 2011.

A long list of online retailers -- including Wal-Mart, Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) and The Disney Store -- unveiled "pre-Black Friday deals" even before Thanksgiving.

"We've absolutely seen this whole weekend turn into one big promotional event," said Jay Henderson, strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce. "Black Friday deals are no longer just for the [brick-and-mortar] store, and Cyber Monday deals are no longer just for Monday."

However, the initial surge is likely to be temporary. By Sunday morning, Cohen expects shopper traffic to fall back to normal pre-holiday sales levels. "There are more hours to shop, but consumers don't have more relatives or more money in their pocket, so once all the dust settles, we won't see too much growth overall," he said.

Julianne Pepitone and Hibah Yousuf contributed to this article.

First Published: November 24, 2012: 6:12 PM ET

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RIM jumps 14% on BlackBerry 10 hopes

RIM, and CEO Thorsten Heins, have spent months assuring that BlackBerry 10 is worth the wait -- and investors appear optimistic.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hating BlackBerry has become something of a bloodsport, but Research in Motion shares have been on an incredible tear for the past two months -- and the RIM rally continued Friday after a bullish analyst report.

National Bank Financial analyst Kris Thompson upped his price target on the stock and his predictions for product shipments in 2014. RIM (RIMM) shares closed 14% higher Friday as a result.

Last week, RIM announced that its long-delayed BlackBerry 10 operating system will finally debut on January 30, a year after the company's next-generation smartphones and software were slated to go on sale.

RIM initially said its new BlackBerry 10 software and devices would be available at the beginning of 2012. The company first delayed that to the end of 2012, and then again to the beginning of 2013.

The new operating system is meant to be the crown jewel of the company's turnaround, so the delays were incredibly troublesome. Some critics wondered if RIM would even survive long enough to launch BlackBerry 10.

Related story: RIM's fate hangs on BlackBerry 10

RIM CEO Thorsten Heins has spent the past few months assuring naysayers that the software will launch in early 2013, and that it will be worth the wait.

Investors appear to be growing more optimistic as well. RIM shares have gained an astounding 59% over the past two months.

That jump is even more remarkable when compared with the slump Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) suffered in the same two-month period. The smartphone king hit bear-market status this month, falling to an intra-day low of about $506 last Friday -- down nearly $200 from the all-time high it hit on September 21.

The Apple sell-off comes after an incredible runup over the past few years -- and during a tumultuous time in the broader stock market on concerns about the fiscal cliff and Europe's continued debt crisis.

First Published: November 23, 2012: 9:56 AM ET

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Cyber Monday starts early this year

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Post-Thanksgiving online discounts were once relegated to Cyber Monday -- but these days, websites are launching deals even before Black Friday. And the resulting shopping frenzy is expected to set records.

IBM Benchmark reported total online sales for Black Friday were up nearly 24% from last year, as of 6 p.m. ET. On Thanksgiving, sales rose more than 17% compared to 2011. Black Friday was the stronger of the two days, eclipsing Thanksgiving by 4:10 p.m. ET.

And a long list of retailers -- including Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) and Ann Taylor (ANN) -- unveiled "pre-Black Friday deals" even before Thanksgiving. Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) posted its one-day online shopping discounts on Black Friday, as did beauty brand MAC Cosmetics.

"We've absolutely seen this whole weekend turn into one big promotional event," said Jay Henderson, strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce. "Black Friday deals are no longer just for the [brick-and-mortar] store, and Cyber Monday deals are no longer just for Monday."

Related: 7 apps for holiday deals

Cyber Monday's original appeal, as the first weekday after Thanksgiving, was access to quick Internet speeds while at work. But now broadband at home is ubiquitous, and consumers can also shop on a slew of mobile devices.

And so retailers' online deals stretch well ahead of Cyber Monday -- in some cases, nearly a full week before.

"Retailers are trying to draw consumers in earlier, and one way to do that is to stagger the deals: Pre-Thanksgiving, some on Thanksgiving Day, another set over the weekend, and finally the big bang to close it out on Cyber Monday," Henderson said.

Mobile devices have become increasingly important during that week before Cyber Monday. The number of consumers using their mobile device to make a purchase on Thanksgiving this year increased 66% from 2011, IBM data show.

Apple's iPad made up nearly 11% of online shopping traffic on Thanksgiving this year, according to IBM, while the iPhone brought in 9%.

Retailers are taking note. Companies like Macy's (M, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500) developed special Black Friday mobile apps featuring exclusive deals and store maps.

Still, despite the expanded schedule, Cyber Monday itself remains an important part of the holiday shopping season.

Related: Holiday shopping forecast: Stronger, and predictably crazy

Andrew Lipsman, an industry analyst at data tracking firm ComScore, said he expects sales for the one-day Cyber Monday shopping event to be around $1.5 billion this year. That's up from his calculations of $1.3 billion in 2011.

It will be a few weeks before full details on Thanksgiving week's sales are made clear, but last year both Black Friday and Cyber Monday broke records. Total spending over the four-day weekend after Thanksgiving 2011 reached a record $52.4 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.

Black Friday 2012 was shaping up to be robust, with shoppers turning out even on Thanksgiving Day at stores including Toys R Us and Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500).

First Published: November 23, 2012: 12:08 PM ET

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Wal-Mart protests draw hundreds nationwide

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hundreds of people -- including some employees -- have taken part in Black Friday demonstrations at Wal-Mart stores nationwide, protesting what they say is the retailer's retaliation against speaking out for better pay, fair schedules and affordable health care.

According to organizers from the union-backed group OUR Walmart, hundreds of workers and thousands of supporters rallied across 100 cities, including Landover Hills, Md., Miami, Oakland, Calif., Chicago, Danville, Ky., Dallas and Kenosha, Wis.

Wal-Mart pushed back, saying it knew of only a "few dozen" protests, and that most of the protesters were not its employees

In one of the biggest protests, nine people were arrested outside of a Paramount, Calif., Wal-Mart store for failing to disperse, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department statement. An OUR Walmart spokesman said three of those arrested were Wal-Mart workers. Those arrested were to be released without bail, unless they had previous arrest warrants.

The sheriff's department said about 1,000 people arrived by bus and private vehicles to participate in the Paramount protest, which was characterized as peaceful.

In Landover Hills, near Washington. D.C. ,organizers said about 350 people participated, although video of the event showed around 100 participants. Dawn Le, who works for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which backs OUR Walmart, would not say how many of those taking part were Wal-Mart employees.

Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), in a statement late Friday, said worker absenteeism was down more than 60% from last year.

"We had our best Black Friday ever and OUR Walmart was unable to recruit more than a small number of associates to participate in these made for TV events," said David Tovar, vice president of corporate communications, in the statement. "Press reports are now exposing what we have said all along -- the large majority of protesters aren't even Walmart workers."

Janna Pea, an OUR Wal-Mart organizer in Dallas, said about 40 workers and about 150 supporters took part in a protest Thursday night.

One of those with her was Josue Mata, who says he walked off his job as an overnight maintenance employee to protest retaliation against people who want to speak out.

"I have four kids and I don't want them to grown up in a society where people disrespect them," he said. "This is a never-ending fight and we're never going to stop."

Related: Wal-Mart: Crowded, and not everyone is smiling.

Mata said he plans to return to work for his next scheduled shift on Sunday evening.

Pea said her protesters went to four Wal-Mart stores across the Dallas area, and while they were able to picket and speak to customers at half of them, they were asked to leave immediately by police at the others.

"We were still able to talk to customers and educate them about what was going on," she said. "We saw one person who was planning to go shopping, but then didn't end up going in. Instead, they rallied with us."

Muhammed Malik, who helped organize a protest at a Miami Wal-Mart, said roughly 70 workers participated in their hour-long demonstration Thursday night. He said one worker walked off his shift as he saw others rallying outside.

Wal-Mart has denied that it has retaliated against protesting workers, and said Friday that it has offered special holiday discounts to its employees for their efforts this season.

The protests were limited in scope, occurring at a handful of the company's approximately 4,000 U.S. stores. One employee at a store near Pittsburgh told CNNMoney he had heard of the protests only through the media.

Related: Black Friday shoppers out in full force

In an effort to stop the protests, Wal-Mart filed a complaint last week with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming that the demonstrations violated labor laws.

The retailer said the actions have disrupted business, and that the workers' ongoing actions violate the National Labor Relations Act, which prohibits picketing for any period over 30 days without filing a petition to form a union.

On Tuesday, OUR Walmart filed its own charge with the federal agency, claiming that Wal-Mart tried to deter workers from participating in the protests and interfered with their right to speak up.

But the NLRB was not able to rule in time or issue an injunction. Nancy Cleeland, a spokeswoman for the NLRB, said the complaint is too complex to make a ruling so soon.

Despite the talk of the protests, Wal-Mart reported larger Thanksgiving and Black Friday crowds than last year. As of Friday morning, the company said it had processed nearly 10 million register transactions.

Shares of Wal-Mart rose 1.9% in Friday trading.

First Published: November 23, 2012: 11:48 AM ET

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Fitch cuts Sony, Panasonic debt to junk

Sony and Panasonic were downgraded Thursday by Fitch.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- Fitch Ratings downgraded Sony and Panasonic debt to junk status Thursday and said the ailing Japan-based consumer electronic makers both needed radical restructuring to improve their prospects.

Panasonic's rating was cut to BB from BBB-, while Sony was moved to BB- from BBB-, with a negative outlook. Both companies now carry speculative, or junk, ratings.

The downgrades are the latest in a string for Sony and Panasonic, which have been haemorrhaging money and struggling to find positive momentum.

The companies, once the crown jewels of the high-tech Japanese economy, have been hit in recent years by a strong yen and weak demand for televisions. Sony now has a market cap of just more than $10 billion, and hasn't turned a profit in four years.

Its shares are trading near their lowest levels in three decades, and even closed below the 800 yen mark in Tokyo earlier this month.

"We think there is little headroom for Sony," Fitch's Steve Durose said in a statement.

"Without a radical change to the structure of their businesses it is difficult to see profitability improving enough for [Sony and Panasonic] to regain investment-grade ratings," Durose said.

Related: Something is rotten in Japan

Panasonic seems to be in better shape than Sony, and less dependent on its struggling core electronics business. Sony is the subject of frequent speculation as a possible takeover target, with cash-rich competitors like Apple, Google and Microsoft all reported as possible suitors.

Related: Can Sony be saved?

Sony made a play of its own in recent months, taking a stake in Olympus, the scandal-plagued company embroiled in an epic accounting fraud. But analysts remain skeptical that Sony will be able to achieve a long-term turnaround.

"The future of both companies will depend on their ability to curb loss-making segments and rediscover the kind of technological leadership which historically enabled them to develop must-have products," Durose said.

First Published: November 22, 2012: 5:39 AM ET

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