Gun sales and online shopping surge on Black Friday

Guns were a popular purchase this Black Friday, with gun store owners reporting a busy day fueled by relatively modest discounts of about 10 percent. Still, many gun retailers find themselves with excess stock following Donald Trump's surprise election victory: Gun buyers were expected to stock up in advance of a Hillary Clinton administration, which many believed would have led to restrictive new gun control laws targeting models like the AR-15, a semi-automatic rifle. "We see those guys that maybe would have bought an AR if Hillary won buying lever-action and bolt-action rifles and shotguns," said Mike Goschinski, a gun retailer in Ohio.

Online shopping sales also surged on Black Friday to a record peak of $3 billion this year, with more than a third of that spending done via mobile devices. For some retailers like Walmart and Target, about two in three purchases were made on smartphones, and overall online shopping increased 20 percent over Black Friday 2015.

In-store sales saw a slower morning followed by increased foot traffic Friday afternoon and evening, with many malls reporting crowds but few long lines.

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