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'Black Friday' lifts retailers' spirits
BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota (CNN) -- Americans woke up early and trooped out to the mall Friday for one of the biggest shopping days of the year, while retailers opened early hoping those shoppers would be big spenders. A circus-like atmosphere greeted retailers like Sears, Toys "R" Us and Kmart, which opened their doors as early as 6 a.m. for early-bird sales. Major retailers including Wal-Mart, as well as several mall operators, said shopper traffic was at least as healthy as the day after Thanksgiving a year ago, according to The Associated Press. But so far, the signs are pointing to a good -- not great -- holiday for retail stores. Retailers reported particularly brisk sales of sweaters and outerwear; DVDs and electronic gadgets; and hot toys like Hasbro's Fur Real Friend, an interactive cat, and Mattel's Chicken Dance Elmo. Retailers have been forced to trim expenses all year to make up for slack sales and analysts expect a mediocre holiday season at best. This year's holiday shopping season is shorter by six days because of a late Thanksgiving, posing yet another challenge. The Grinch has already stolen Christmas from one retailer, Reuters reports. FAO Inc., operator of the upscale toy stores FAO Schwarz and Zany Brainy, warned on Friday it will miss its earnings target this year due to weak sales. Breaking evenAlthough common lore considers it the top shopping day of the year, the day after Thanksgiving usually comes in no better than No. 5 and is the only top-10 shopping day to fall outside December, according to data supplied by the Purdue Retail Institute, the National Retail Federation and the International Council of Shopping Centers. But the day some have called "Black Friday" -- because it's the day retailer balance sheets move out of the red and into the black -- is an important indicator of what's to come. "We're predicting that sales are going to be up about 4 percent this year, and that is a little bit on the low side. That compares to about 5 percent last year," said Rick Gallagher of the National Retail Federation. "But clearly, we are looking for a decent holiday season." Dinner and dealsDecent, Gallagher said, because consumer confidence appears to be on the rise. "We saw strong sales in October," he told CNN's Carol Costello on "American Morning." "And I think the most important part here is that people are at least secure in their jobs and they think that perhaps the worst of the recession is behind them." Gallagher might be more optimistic than others -- a 4 percent sales jump this year would be the smallest increase since 1997. "We all hope it's a strong Christmas season," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, out on a shopping junket of his own. "I think common sense says it won't be as strong as it has been ... 3 percent is what a lot of people are talking." At the Mall of Georgia about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta, marketing director Scott Higley said many retailers were reporting traffic that was better than last year's day-after-Thanksgiving levels, according to Reuters. The busiest shopping days of any year, by the way, are traditionally the two weekends before Christmas, capping a steady rise from the starting bell on the Friday after Thanksgiving. And the most popular gift so far? Clothing. The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
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