Holiday shoppers get a head start on Thanksgiving

The day after Thanksgiving, replete with doorbuster deals at jam-packed department stores and long lines at electronics purveyors, has for years marked the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, the time when retailers’ operations typically started showing profits for the year.

Paredes said she passed the time mainly with her cell phone. The trade group expects about 30 million to shop on Thanksgiving, compared with 99.7 million on Black Friday.

“Brick-and-mortar stores are engaged in an all-out effort to compete with online retailers”, said Mark Vitner, senior economist with San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank.

Consumers could be big winners this holiday season.

Black Friday has now overtaken Cyber Monday as Amazon.co.uk’s busiest day with 5.5million items sold on the day a year ago.

Recreational Equipment Inc., better known as REI, generated massive buzz earlier this month when it announced it would keep its stores closed on Black Friday.

As people are preparing for their Thanksgiving feast, shoppers are planning to get the best deals for Black Friday. The next seasonal sale in India will begin in January with even retail stores offering unbelievable discounts and lower prices.

While stores like Walmart and Toys “R” Us embrace the Black Friday tradition, shoppers shouldn’t plan on heading over to REI. She found herself reunited with two teenagers who had been behind her in the line outside the store previous year. Over the past few years the event has become known as the start of the Christmas season, with many big retailers – such as Walmart / Asda and Amazon launching big discount sales. This is to getting all of your holiday shopping done in someday… “The economy is strong and that improves how consumers view their own personal situation”.

While many shoppers were able to grab the items from their wish lists today, others, like dedicated shoppers lined up at Cabela’s, remain out in the elements eager for Friday morning’s 5 a.m. opening. Thanksgiving is an important part of the shopping holiday. The store has been in Times Square since 2001, but it’s not renewing its lease after it runs out in January 2016.

And if you can’t wait for Black Friday, here are some of the Black Tag deals already live on the site…

Columbia Mall – Opens at 6:00 p.m.