Retailers pray for a true Black Friday

<p><i>This editorial is by <WC1>Dale McFeatters <WC>of <WC1>Scripps Howard News Service<WC>:</i></p><p>The good news is that 134 million Americans are expected to go shopping over Black Friday weekend<WC> beginning today<WC1>, 6 million more than last year.</p><p>More good news is that consumer confidence is rising, although it’s still at less than half its historic average.</p><p>The bad news is that Americans plan to spend an average of $682 on holiday shopping, down from $705 last season, says the National Retail Federation. Two-thirds of those surveyed say the economy is affecting their spending plans, and 84 percent of those say they will respond by spending less. This is not good news for retailers or economists.</p><p>Holiday shoppers account for 40 percent or more of many retailers’ annual sales, hence the name Black Friday for the day the retailers’ books come out of the red and into the black.<WC></p><p><WC1>Not surprisingly, merchants have made Black Friday into an event, scheduling special sales, discounts and giveaways and keeping stores open longer. The retail foundation says more than one-fourth of shoppers will hit the stores between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., while a crazed 10 percent will be arriving between midnight and 3 a.m.</p><p>Sometimes the shoppers get a little too frenzied, and in one notorious case a temporary worker was trampled to death at a New York Wal-Mart. That has led the bigger retailers to add extra security and implement crowd-control measures.</p><p>Economists keep a sharp eye on Black Friday sales as a barometer of consumer spending, which drives 70 percent of the U.S. economy.<WC></p><p><WC1>Retail sales this season are estimated to come in at around $437.6 billion, down slightly from last season. This puts the poor consumers in a terrible bind. On one hand, they’re told to save and get out of debt; on the other hand, they’re being told to help lift the economy out of recession by hauling out their credit cards.</p><p>There is one overlooked Black Friday bargain — cars. Black Friday is said to be the best day of the year to buy a car.<WC> <WC1>Savvy shoppers will have the showrooms to themselves.<WC></p><p>Everybody else is at the mall.</p>