MAIN Home Life Holidays Thanksgiving Black Friday 2009

The day after Thanksgiving is the official start of the holiday shopping season - popularly known as Black Friday - when retailers move from being unprofitable, or "in the red," to being profitable, or "in the black".

Contrary to popular belief, Black Friday is not the busiest shopping day of the year in terms of money spent.

Already exhausted from family entertaining, many shoppers are more apt to appear at the mall on Black Friday to plan their hunting-and-gathering strategy than actually make a solid purchase.

Yet there are Americans, and in great numbers, who begin shopping in earnest on Black Friday - or even before.

As the US struggles out of a deep recession, in 2009 more stores like Walmart and Sears are planning early Black Friday sales to get a jump on early Christmas shopping as budgets tighten.

By tradition, the day also invariably includes a TV report about how pleased (or outraged) shoppers are with this year's sales - and what that means for the entire shopping season. Stay tuned.

More about Black Friday 2009 around the Web:

On the Web, check out more consumer reports, facts, information and the history of Black Friday, and where to find the hottest sales taking place coast to coast beginning on Friday, November 27, 2009 ... followed by Cyber Monday on November 30..

Black Friday @ Gotta Deal - News, rumors and information on where and what's on sale, with scans of holiday sale circulars, a store locator, a history of Black Friday and a very busy forum.

Black Friday - The OFFICIAL Site for the Hottest Day of the Year - Keep up to date on the latest news and rumors, sign up for the mailing list, view scans of early and upcoming holiday ads from top retailers, and find out more in the active discussion boards.

The Official Black Friday Site - Visitor-submitted information with lists of hot sales items from major retailers including Staples, Sears, Walmart, Kmart, Best Buy, Walgreens and more.

Official Black Friday Ads - From DealTaker.com, offering free registration for entry into forum posts on the latest news about Black Friday sales.

BlackFriday.info - Catch this year's best sales with a searchable database, news, and e-mail alerts on the hottest post-Thanksgiving deals at Target, Walmart, Costco, Old Navy, Toys R Us and lots more ....

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