The Black Friday Guide

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Still think Black Friday happens the day after Thanksgiving?http://www.creditloan.com/infographics/wp-admin/edit.php

Well, you’re only partially right.

The Black Friday sales that capture the most attention will still take place the Friday after Thanksgiving. But that big Friday is just part of the shopping mayhem. Black Friday is now an entire season.

That’s right: Shopping experts say that Black Friday now runs from late October all the way through early December. So if you’re waiting to hit the stores until the morning after you’ve digested your turkey, you might be missing out on the season’s best values.

Retailers are savvier than ever these days. They have to be. No one’s jolly about the economy. Consumers are tighter with their dollars. This is no surprise: Many of them are out of work or underemployed. Others are on teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. And still others are struggling to avoid losing their house to foreclosure.

So merchants know that they have to pull out all the stops to get consumers to dip into their wallets and purses. The longer Black Friday shopping season is one way to do this.

Christmas Comes Earlier Every Year

Merchants can hardly wait for the last trick-or-treater to ring their doorbells before they start stuffing their aisles with Christmas trees, grinning Santas, mistletoe, and plastic reindeer. And why not? The holiday season is when many retailers traditionally make their profits.

This, in fact, is where Black Friday got its name: Retailers move from the red – loss – to the black – profits – during the manic holiday shopping season. You can take a look at the impact that Black Friday has on merchants by (clicking the infographic)attached to this story. You might be surprised to see just how important Black Friday and the entire holiday shopping season is to most retailers.

So don’t be surprised when you walk into your local mall on Nov. 10 and already see fake snow covering every square inch. And if you should bump into a real-live Santa ho-hoing away before the Thanksgiving turkeys have even been sold, don’t do a double-take: Retailers want that holiday season to stretch on and on.

Bargains to be had

This is actually good news for shoppers, at least for those who can stand the dozens of renditions of “Frosty the Snowman” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” that will assault their eardrums. (Does every pop star have a Christmas album? We’re waiting for Mike “The Situation” from Jersey Shore to release a “Jersey Christmas” this year.)

That’s because there’ll be plenty of bargains available for cost-conscious shoppers, even on the trendiest electronics and toys.

Analysts are already predicting that retailers will dangle bargains on iPods, laptop computers, e-readers, and video game systems in effort to entice the bigger spenders this holiday season. New motion-capture controls for the Playstation, for instance, are expected to be offered at cheaper prices. And those yearning for a new iPad might find them at bargain-basement prices this Black Friday.

Of course, shoppers will have to act fast. Those who know how the Black Friday season works, advise shoppers to pull the trigger quickly if they find a deal that they can’t live without. It’s tempting to wait and hope for even lower prices. But shoppers who do this risk losing that low-cost iPod Touch or that bargain-basement Wii video game system.

But whatever you do, don’t have a blue Christmas if you don’t land that perfect Black Friday gift this year. If you think prices are low the day after Thanksgiving, you should wait until the week after Christmas. Now that’s where the real values wait!