Today is Black Friday, the day retailers hope their financial books go from being in the red to black.
But this holiday is marked by several obstacles — high fuel prices, a sagging economy, toy recalls, higher food prices and growing consumer debt.
So profits may be slimmer than retailers hope. Still, despite the negatives, there’s reason to be hopeful for business owners and shoppers. Retailers are going all out to lure consumers with holiday decor, door-buster sales and long hours.
And surveys show that the majority of consumers expect to spend the same as last year. That ought to be encouraging for retailers.
Toy safety will be a big concern for shoppers, given all the recalls, and consumers likely will be checking labels.
But shoppers planning to buy only American-made toys may be surprised to learn that the overwhelming majority of toys sold in this country — 80 percent — are made in China. So shopping American-only might be close to impossible.
Check the Internet (the Consumer Product Safety Commission has a good website: ) to know what items have been recalled.
As one trade group official warned recently, don’t count on salespeople to know what toys have been recalled. Many are not up to date on the recalled items.
Despite the recalls and the warnings, consumer advocates say that most toys are safe.
Even with all the pre-Thanksgiving sales, shoppers are likely to be out in droves this weekend, trying to get in on the deep discounts offered on popular consumer products.
So they best be prepared: wear comfortable shoes, arrive early so bargains aren’t just a bad memory by the time you get there, and bring plenty of patience. Parking lots will be crowded and lines inside the malls will be long.
Overall, for all of you shoppers out there, enjoy your day. Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas is just 32 days away.
