New York (AFP) – Americans returned to stores for the “Black Friday” kickoff of the holiday shopping season, but online data shows that consumers have been spending big for weeks amid worries over shortages. The day after the US Thanksgiving celebration is the traditional start to the holiday shopping season, and normally sees Americans line up outside stores before they open to clinch deals on popular items. After the pandemic kept crowds away last year, many shoppers were out in force Friday, a sign of how Covid-19 vaccines have returned life in the United States to something closer to norma…

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