MAIN Holidays Thanksgiving Black Friday 2012

The day after Thanksgiving 2012 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".

With five weeks in November in 2012, that means there will be an early Thanksgiving on November 22, and a head start on the holiday sales rush already being planned by major retailers and outlet malls.

Contrary to popular belief, Black Friday is not the busiest shopping day of the year in terms of money spent. That title belongs to a day or two before Christmas when last minute Christmas shopping is at its height. Already exhausted from family entertaining, many shoppers are more apt to appear at department stores 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.

Jump Starting the Holidays - Early Black Friday Sales

Stocking their shelves for early Christmas sales, major retailers like Walmart and Sears planned early Black Friday sales last year to get a jump on crowds of shoppers looking for the best deals and holiday bargains.

Following the trend, October 2012 won't long be over when stores will begin featuring Christmas gift sets and other holidays items on sale. The reason? In a poor economy, retailers want to lure in the early crowds so they don't have to store as much inventory until the end of the year. As a result, hot holiday items and especially popular toys are likely to run out before the holiday rush even peaks!

As always, watch for the usual great holiday savings on flat screen TVs, laptops, video gaming consoles, when low prices are slashed for clearance at Best Buy and other retail giants. Expect steep price drops, as well, on jewelry, fashion clothing and cologne-perfume gift sets for an early jump on the holiday shopping season.

Don't forget to browse online for some of the best bargains around, and be sure to search for related online sales coupons and discount codes for even bigger savings.

Word to the wise? Don't wait for the holiday shopping spirit to hit before you head off to the department stores. Beat the crowds and save extra cash by taking advantage of early Black Friday sales at the beginning of November. Then, wait to save big on other items — like stocking stuffers, Christmas wrap, and holiday cards — that go on drastic clearance as the holidays finally roll around.

Black Friday 2012

Leading up to Black Friday 2012, watch for special hours of operation being posted for Black Friday at the major department stores.

Following the lead of Wal-Mart who introduced their Black Friday sales at midnight Thanksgiving evening, other major stores like The Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Toys R Us have also gotten a head start on Black Friday by opening during the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day as competition for holiday shoppers intensifies.

Keep it here for more updates on store hours as Black Friday 2012 draws near.

More about 2012 Black Friday sales around the Web:

On the Web, check out more consumer tips, reports, facts, information on Black Friday, and where to find the hottest sales taking place coast to coast beginning officially on Friday, November 23, 2012 ... followed by Cyber Monday sales for great online deals on November 26 ....

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, Dell, Walmart, Costco, Old Navy, Toys R Us and lots more ....

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.

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 Shopping Tips - About.com guide with helpful tips on researching Black Friday ads, scoping out department store and malls, and related advice on where to find the best sales.

Surviving Black Friday - It's all about strategy, with tips and related resources for saving big around the holidays.

The best times to buy - seasonal sales

also see ->Tips for a cheap Christmas | January white sales

Money saving tips & advice