Shoppers flood stores on Black Friday

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Shoppers, who had snapped their wallets shut since September, flocked to stores and malls before dawn Friday to grab deals on everything from TVs to toys for the official start of the holiday shopping season, feared to be the weakest in decades.

Retailers from Toys "R" Us Inc. and Best Buy Co. to J.C. Penney Co. extended their hours -- some opening at midnight -- and offered deals that promised to be even deeper and wider than even the deep discounts that shoppers found throughout November.

But the question remains whether anyone will be spending much money on holiday gifts as a recession nears, credit markets remain frozen, layoffs loom and consumer spending shrinks.

In West Michigan shoppers lined up outside a Portage Best Buy starting at 2pm on Thanksgiving Day. At the Kentwood store the line stretched around the building before the 5am opening. Both shoppers and store employees tell us the numbers of people though, are down from last year. Most people we spoke to blame the economy for the lower numbers.

Black Friday -- which falls on the day after Thanksgiving and officially starts the holiday shopping period -- received its name because it historically was the day when a surge of shoppers helped stores break into profitability for the full year. But this year, with rampant promotions of up to 70 percent throughout the month amid a deteriorating economy, the power of this landmark day for the retail industry could be fading.

Still, while it isn't a predictor of holiday season sales, the day after Thanksgiving is an important barometer of people's willingness to spend for the rest of the season. And particularly this year, analysts will be dissecting how the economy is shaping shoppers' buying habits, including whether they will spring for big ticket items or focus on small purchases like gloves and hats.

Last year, the Thanksgiving shopping weekend of Friday through Sunday accounted for about 10 percent of overall holiday sales, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp.

To entice shoppers to come into their stores, many West Michigan outlets are offering steep discounts and "door busters." But those items are in short supply and one customer we spoke to said she'd missed out on the good deals for a computer at Wal-Mart Best Buy, and another store. On all three occasions, the computer she sought was already sold out. She left the store without spending a penny. Not good news for retailers. Those "door busters," are intended to bring shoppers into the store with the intent that they'll leave with lots of goodies in their bags whether or not they got the deal that brought them to the store in the first place.

But if you did miss out on the deal you were searching for in the store, you may be able to find it on-line. Many of the nations largest retailers have already gone "live" with their on-line deals. bfads.net and theblackfriday.com are two sites that have links to many of the retailers who have jumped the gun ahead of "Cyber Monday," when
most retailers put their on-line sales on their websites. Many stores are now offering free or discounted shipping for items purchased this season in addition to the deals they're offering on their websites.

Are you looking for Black Friday Deals?  Matt Schuler went and found them with deals that last into the weekend.  Check out his blog.