Walmart is trying desperately to contain the Black Friday chaos by creating what customers are calling a 'maze' - but photos reveal a wild shopping fiasco

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Walmart is trying desperately to contain the Black Friday chaos by creating what customers are calling a 'maze' - but photos reveal a wild shopping fiasco

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walmart shopping black friday

Gunnar Rathbun/AP

Walmart is known for its legendarily crowded Black Friday.

  • Walmart has attempted to calm the chaos of Black Friday with new maps and rearranged stores. 
  • However, inside the stores, things look as crowded and hectic as ever on Thursday evening. 
  • Some shoppers are complaining that Walmart's creation of a "maze" is making Black Friday shopping take even longer. 

Black Friday at Walmart looks just as wild as ever, despite the retail giant's best attempts at calming the chaos. 

Every year, Walmart makes certain tweaks to its Black Friday game plan, in an attempt to better deal with the crowds that mob its stores starting on Thanksgiving Day.

This year, adjustments include rearranging stores to better funnel customers to check-out and to highlight popular items. The new arrangements mean new color-coded maps, printed in Walmart's circulars and - for the first time - available for reference on Walmart's app. To avoid lines, customers can check out with certain employees throughout the stores. 

Read more: Walmart is eliminating the most dreaded part of holiday shopping

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Unsurprisingly, the revamp hasn't fully solved the Black Friday chaos. A look at social media reveals that Walmart stores across the US - which kicked off sales at 6 p.m. - are as crowded and intense as ever. 

Some shoppers are specifically targeting the "maze" that Walmart has created as part of the problem. 

However, at least one Walmart Black Friday innovation this year has been welcomed with open arms. "Check Out With Me," which allows employees in the busiest sections of its stores to check out shoppers with mobile devices, is a hit with customers - if they can find the workers. 

Still, for the most part, chaos - or at least crowds - reigned at Walmart. 

But, for many shoppers who got their hands on Black Friday deals, the hectic scene was worth it. 

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