Black Friday, the post-Thanksgiving US sales day, has seen a slight rise in sales compared to last year according to early reports.

Sales rose 0.3 per cent against last year to $10.7bn (£6.85bn) according to research group ShopperTrak. This follows a 0.5% rise last year.

Black Friday heralds the start of the Christmas shopping season in the US, with many retailers including Toys R Us opening overnight and offering discounts to kickstart sales.

Many retailers pushed customers to their websites with online-only sales. Online payment service PayPal reported a 27% increase in sales.

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