Top 10 Tips for Black Friday Sales

1. Research: start your Black Friday 2011 sale research on Thanksgiving day or earlier.
2. Make a plan: identify what you want to buy, which stores have the best sales on Black Friday, and what time they open.
3. Timing is everything: arrange stores by opening time from early to late.
4. A fool and his money: be wary of Black Friday deals with quantity limits. If a store only has 10 items at that price, go elsewhere.
5. Visualize: know where your items are in the store.
6. Stay Safe: Previous Black Friday sales were honestly deadly; please don't trample or shoot anyone!
7. Power of numbers: go with a team and attack separate stores or separate sections of the same store. Designate a meeting place.
8. Bring a snack: only amateurs stop at the food court on Black Friday! (Or the bathroom - so go before you leave.)
9. The quiet ones: don't ignore stores that don't advertise. They will have Black Friday deals too!!
10. Have fun: enjoy your family, friends and deals!

Black Friday 2011 Overall Predictions

The 2011 Black Friday climate is far from certain. While in 2010 the economy grew at 3.0% that was a drop from 2009's brisk 5.6% growth and the economy is now projected to slow to anemic 1.6% to 1.7% growth in 2011. The unemployment rate is at 9.1%, plus tens of millions more underemployed or no longer seeking work, and the US Federal Reserve doesn't see unemployment getting below 8.5% until at least 2013. This combined with continued foreclosure problems, a lack of credit, and the introduction of European sovereign debt problems that are seemingly beyond our control, or even that of Europeans, contribute to a continued concern and frugality for most US households. Despite this concern, we've seen a counter-intuitive decline in US household savings rates. Recently above 7%, the highest in a very long time, they have dropped to 3.6% of disposable income in September, though that is still less frugal than the 1-2% we saw from 2005-2007. These factors paint a mixed picture of Black Friday for retailers. Specifically...

• Spending on average will increase again from $365 to $385 as consumers spend more despite the negativity.
• The amount of Black Friday shoppers will increase from 212 million last year to 225 million this year. This the biggest of all discount-focused days and will continue to capture the attention of more shoppers given the broader economic difficulties.
• With more shoppers spending more money, Black Friday spending as a percentage of total holiday sales will increase significantly from 10.0% to 10.6%.
• The amount of Black Friday online shopping will jump from $648 million to $705 million as people try to avoid stores, and online shopping because even more popular.