Walmart says this year's Black Friday was its best ever, as huge crowds lined up to get the best promotions.
"During the high traffic period from 8 p.m. through midnight, Walmart processed nearly 10 million register transactions and almost 5,000 items per second," the company said in a release.
"I'm so proud of what our more than 1.3 million associates have done to prepare and execute our Black Friday plans, giving our customers a great start to their Christmas shopping season," said Bill Simon, Walmart U.S. president and chief executive officer.
The success of the normally chaotic day can be attributed to the new system of staggering promotions.
Walmart opened doors at 8 p.m., allowing shoppers to get into the store. Those interested in the toys, clothes or kitchen appliances on sale bought them. But shoppers who wanted electronics had to wait.
Some electronics, including printers and cameras, were placed in plastic-wrapped kiosks. Employees and a police officer guarded them. They unwrapped some at 10 p.m. and others at 5 a.m., preventing overcrowding that would occur if everyone rushed in at the same time.
Besides a couple of incidents, it's been a relatively quiet year for Walmart, which has seen deaths and stampedes on Black Fridays past.
Protests by Walmart workers in at least nine states apparently did little to deter the masses from shopping.
DON'T MISS: Photos Of Black Friday Hysteria Around The Country >
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