Photos show long lines outside stores like Best Buy and GameStop on Black Friday, despite the CDC labelling in-store shopping as a 'higher-risk' activity

Allana AkhtarNov 28, 2020, 02:52 IST

Long lines formed outside Best Buy, GameStop, and other stores on Black Friday 2020.REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Photos and local news reports indicate shoppers formed long lines outside stores like Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, and Foot Locker on Black Friday 2020.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified Black Friday shopping as a "higher-risk" activity due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases across the country.
Still, many malls and outlets appeared to see significantly fewer shoppers this year.

Some Americans formed long, crowded lines outside stores this Black Friday, despite the government's warning against indoor shopping.

Photos showed people tightly lining up outside Best Buy and GameStop locations early Friday morning, many hoping to score the sold-out PlayStation 5. Lines formed outside other stores, like Walmart and Foot Locker, as well.

Major retailers like Best Buy extended online sales to discourage typical Black Friday crowds, since COVID-19 can spread quickly in large groups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified shopping on or after Thanksgiving as a "high risk" activity due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases across the country.

The US recorded record-high single-day coronavirus case counts and deaths in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.

Stores and malls across the country had significantly fewer crowds than Black Fridays in prior years, according to photos and reports on the ground. Macy's flagship store in Manhattan, New York City, for instance, had a few shoppers in the morning, a stark contrast to the claustrophobia-inducing crowd on Thanksgiving Day, 2019.

But the CDC warning could not deter all shoppers. Here's what crowded lines looked like on Black Friday 2020:

A large line formed outside the GameStop in Tysons Corner Center, in Tysons, Virginia, before it opened.

REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Source: Reuters

A Best Buy location in Wheaton, Maryland had a large line outside the store during Black Friday.

NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

Source: Getty Images

A line formed outside a Best Buy location in Greensboro, North Carolina, later in the morning. Best Buy opened stores from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Black Friday.

The line outside a GameStop in Montgomery, Alabama started on Thanksgiving, similar to prior Black Fridays, per Montgomery Advertiser.

A line formed around a Walmart in New Jersey before the store opened at 5 a.m. Walmart started sales online and in stores prior to Black Friday to discourage crowds from forming.

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Source: Getty Images

A line formed around a Walmart in New Jersey before the store opened at 5 a.m. Walmart started sales online and in stores prior to Black Friday to discourage crowds from forming.

The line outside a GameStop in Dublin, California, began forming on Wednesday, November 25, for a chance to get two PlayStation 5s and four Xbox Series Xs.

A long line stood outside a Foot Locker location in Manhattan before the store opened.

Jeenah Moon/Getty Images

Source: Getty Images

A line wrapped around a Bass Pro Shop store in Nashville, Tennessee, before stores opened at 5 a.m.

A large line formed outside Walmart location near Dayton, Ohio, per WHIO-TV.

Shoppers waited in line to enter a Best Buy location in Frisco, Texas, early Friday morning.

AP Photo/LM Otero

Source: Associated Press

Photos show just how empty stores are on a Black Friday unlike any other

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Photos show long lines outside stores like Best Buy and GameStop on Black Friday, despite the CDC labelling in-store shopping as a 'higher-risk' activity

A large line formed outside the GameStop in Tysons Corner Center, in Tysons, Virginia, before it opened.

A Best Buy location in Wheaton, Maryland had a large line outside the store during Black Friday.

A line formed outside a Best Buy location in Greensboro, North Carolina, later in the morning. Best Buy opened stores from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Black Friday.

The line outside a GameStop in Montgomery, Alabama started on Thanksgiving, similar to prior Black Fridays, per Montgomery Advertiser.

A line formed around a Walmart in New Jersey before the store opened at 5 a.m. Walmart started sales online and in stores prior to Black Friday to discourage crowds from forming.

The line outside a GameStop in Dublin, California, began forming on Wednesday, November 25, for a chance to get two PlayStation 5s and four Xbox Series Xs.

A long line stood outside a Foot Locker location in Manhattan before the store opened.

A line wrapped around a Bass Pro Shop store in Nashville, Tennessee, before stores opened at 5 a.m.

A large line formed outside Walmart location near Dayton, Ohio, per WHIO-TV.

Shoppers waited in line to enter a Best Buy location in Frisco, Texas, early Friday morning.