Wal-Mart to keep stores open 24/7 on Black Friday

Bentonville, Ark. Wal-Mart Stores said Wednesday it will keep its stores open 24 hours and take new crowd-control measures Thanksgiving weekend after a temporary employee was trampled to death in a Black Friday rush last year.

The company said day-after-Thanksgiving sales will begin at 5 a.m. Nov. 27, but most U.S. stores will be open 24 hours to prevent a mad dash. The announcement doesn't affect most of Wal-Mart's Supercenters, which are already open 24 hours.

Wal-Mart said in a statement that it consulted with safety experts in the sports and entertainment industries to develop store-specific plans for all U.S. locations (see related story).

Each plan looked at how customers approach and enter the store, how they check out and leave, as well as how customers move around the store and near the biggest bargains, Wal-Mart said.