Americans spent a record $7.4 billion in online purchases this Black Friday, AP reports.
The big picture: Strong consumer spending has largely acted as the U.S. economy's backbone for the past two quarters and most of 2018. October's Q4 retail sales figures indicated solid, albeit slightly cautious, consumers.
The idea of a Black Friday shopping day is spreading to countries that don't celebrate Thanksgiving, "prompting a backlash from some activists, politicians and even consumers," AP reports.
Why it matters: Black Friday sales are expected to beat old records this year in several European countries, the Washington Post reports, as it highlights German protests against the shopping day.
America is dotted with ghostly, long-abandoned carcasses of malls — massive structures that were once bustling shopping centers but were forced to close down after seeing dismal foot traffic.
The state of play: Many of these malls have been repurposed. Some have been retrofitted into community centers or water treatment plants. Others have been turned into big warehouses to serve e-commerce companies (that one's a little on the nose).
