Dive Brief:

• Shopping centers and retail chains, including Target and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., have bolstered security to combat holiday violence, deploying measures such as Segway patrols, quota systems and live music performances to distract shoppers.
• The National Retail Federation issued guidelines to stores, urging them to prepare for large crowds, extended lines and angry shoppers.
• Reported incidents at Wal-Mart stores over the past week have included a woman spitting on another customer and attacking a child in New Jersey and a fight over a TV in North Carolina.

Dive Insight:

The nice thing about online sales, which are a growing by the year on Thanksgiving anyway, is that it' difficult for them to result in pro-wrestling-style confrontations like those that Wal-Mart has seen. We would hope that as online holiday sales continue to grow, these violent incidents will fade away.