The Holiday Shopping Rush in the U.S.

Shoppers throng Brea Mall during Black Friday shopping in Brea, California, Nov. 29, 2013.

Thanksgiving Day holiday shoppers line up with television sets on discount at the Target retail store in Chicago, Illinois, Nov. 28, 2013.

Manuel Diaz Escobar, a tourist from Mexico City, rides in an elevator with his purchases from Kmart, New York, Nov. 28, 2013.

Employees stock Furby dolls behind a register at the Times Square Toys R' Us, New York, Nov. 28, 2013.

Customers wait on line to make their purchases at the Times Square Toys R' Us, New York, Nov. 28, 2013.

Best Buy bargain hunters swarm manager Ramon Estevez as he hands out scarves and hats that will identify those eligible for specially priced door-buster sale items late in the evening on Thanksgiving Day in Dunwoody, Georgia, Nov. 28, 2013.

Shoppers line up to get on the escalator at Macy's Herald Square in New York on Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, 2013. (Sandra Lemaire/VOA)

The crowd outside Macy's Herald Square in New York ahead of the store opening on Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, 2013. (Sandra Lemaire/VOA)

Jervis Benjamin, 8 rides in a cart while he and his parents shop Target's Black Friday sale in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Nov. 28, 2013.

Bargain hunters wait outside a Best Buy to be among the first to purchase discounted electronics when the store opens its doors at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day in Atlanta, Georgia, Nov. 28, 2013.