Shop 'till you Drop

Whew! We survived the busiest shopping day of the year for 2004--the Friday after Thanksgiving. Retailers seemed pretty happy with Friday's turnout. Retailers are optimistic, viewing Friday as a good kick-off to a profitable holiday shopping season. Stores like the ever-popular Wal-Mart did well, and Sears and Toys 'R' Us offered some incentives in order to shake themselves out of a slump.
Company spokesmen and customers alike described the shopping scenes at stores around the country. People got in line in the wee hours of the morning, and it was a good thing too, because some lines ended up hundreds of people long. Stores opened as early as 5 AM, and offered great "early bird" specials and other incentives, like free coupons or gift certificates. At some stores, some of their discounted products sold out in minutes.
Some customers had divide-and-conquer plans--they got together with friends and relatives, determined who wanted what from where, and then each person went to a different store early in the morning. For others, they just got up early to see what they could find, without any specific goals.
Despite all this madness, some people still show hesitancy (or perhaps should I say common sense?) because of the uncertain job market and high oil prices.
Just remember when you go shopping this next month, bring your wallet and a lot of patience.