Bargain hunters swarm Warwick Mall

WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) - Tens of thousands of Rhode Island residents took part in Black Friday shopping sprees at local businesses.

Despite the bitter cold rain Friday morning, many shoppers began lining up outside the Target at the Warwick Mall just after midnight. By 5AM when the store finally opened, an estimated 500 people were in line.

"It was all the deals," says shopper Linda Sinnott. "There were some really good bargains out there."

Dave Crenca, the store's General Manager, attributes the rush to what else: deep discounts.

"We had a Westinghouse 32 inch TV that went for $246," Crenca says. "That was a big seller. We had three pallets of those that went in just about 10 minutes."

An estimated 134 million Americans were expected to shop on Friday. Crenca told us his store expected to see a jump in sales over last year.

The weekend after Thanksgiving, from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, accounts for 20% of the retail industry's business for the entire year.