Wal-Mart Website Struggles to Handle Demand for ‘Doorbusters’

Wal-Mart’s website malfunctioned during the Thanksgiving shopping rush Thursday morning, throwing a wrench in some shoppers’ plans to avoid long lines by grabbing deals online. For the first time, the world’s biggest retailer offered most of its Black Friday “doorbusters” on its website hours before they were available inside its U.S. stores. The discounts, which were offered in stores starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, went on sale starting around 3 a.m. ET.