Scenes From Black Friday

So far, no reports of waffle-maker-esque madness yet, as hordes of shoppers descended on stores to snap up the best deals of the year. This year, stores such as Target and Toys R Us opened on Thanksgiving evening, while retailers from Macy's to Best Buy opened their doors at midnight on Black Friday. Retailers are hoping that the earlier openings will help boost sales this holiday season. It's still unclear how many Americans took advantage of the earlier openings, but about 17% of shoppers said earlier this month that they planned to shop at stores that opened on Thanksgiving, according to one survey. Overall, it's estimated that sales on Black Friday will be up 3.8% to $11.4 billion this year. Here, in images, are scenes from Black Friday from across the nation: (More Black Friday stories.)