SIX THINGS TO WATCH FOR ON BLACK FRIDAY

Stores spread out sales, while some U.S. retailers are giving the holiday back

Thanksgiving marks the starting line for America’s annual holiday shopping hysteria. Deal-hungry crowds will jam through sliding doors of big-box shops (sometimes breaking them), pack the aisles of discount retailers, and rummage through the racks of department stores during the last week of November. And yes, there will probably be some fisticuffs.

This year, we’re likely to see stores continue to spread doorbuster discounts over weeks. There’ll be more stores reversing Black Friday’s seepage into Thanksgiving.

It remains unclear how bold Americans feel about spending money after a vitriolic presidential election, but the National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts sales during the last two months of this year (excluding automobiles, gas, and restaurants) will increase 3.6 per cent over the same period in 2015.

Here are six things about this year’s shopping season you need to know: 1. There’s no rush.

Some 59 per cent of Americans plan to shop between Thanksgiving Day and the following Sunday, according to the NRF. Here’s another way to look at that: Some 41 per cent of U.S. consumers are going to keep their credit cards holstered. But probably not for long.

Retailers have in recent years moved sales into December. Some have even been dangling their discounts well before Thanksgiving. 2. A “Goldilocks economy” means this is the best time for Americans to spent their money.

Interest rates, inflation and unemployment are all about as low as economists could hope, a rare set of conditions that Richard Curtin, director of the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence survey, calls “a Goldilocks economy.”

The index rose to its highest point for the month of November in a decade, although that was compiled from surveys taken before the election. 3. More stores won’t be open until Friday.

Rebellious retailers are fighting to halt the reverse creep of Black Friday into Thanksgiving Day.

For instance, outdoor retailer Recreational Equipment Inc., will close its 149 stores on both Thursday and Friday for the second year in a row.

Mall of America is giving its 1,200 workers in Bloomington, Minn., the day off this Thanksgiving in an effort to “give the holiday back” to employees, executives announced. 4. Forget about a new iPhone — you’re probably getting socks.

Shoppers are expected to shell out a larger percentage of cash on clothing and footwear, while allocating less to consumer electronics, according to a report from Citi. All categories of devices are down year-over-year, with smartphones, fitness trackers, personal computers, and streaming media faring the worst, the report stated.

Analysts see apparel and shoes making up about 14 per cent of the holiday gift budget, up from 12 per cent in 2015. 5. Santa may bring you that Canada goose coat after all.

Shopper demand for cold-weather clothes will get a lift, according to data from weather intelligence firm Planalytics. Many markets in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic coast are seeing weather-driven demand jump by more than 10 per cent compared with the same period last year. 6. Time is on everyone’s side.

Thanks to 2016 being a leap year, there are two extra days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.