With the budgets of so many stretched thin this holiday season, retailers are doing all they can to make sure there's a Black Friday deal for everyone.
Retailers from Toys 'R Us to OfficeMax are offering deals for big savings on Black Friday this year, the day that marks the official start to the holiday shopping season and the biggest shopping day of the year. Experts expect holiday spending to be down so getting customers in stores may be crucial for retailers. Many have already announced that they'll be going to extra lengths to lure customers into their stores and it looks like this year may be one of the highest volume Black Fridays in recent memory -- 10 percent more people are expected to shop on Black Friday this year, according to a recent poll.
Many Black Friday destinations such as Toys 'R Us and Walmart are opening on Thanksgiving Day and offering many of their Black Friday specials that night. Other stores, such as Macy's and Target, have pushed their openings up until midnight.
Still, for at least one customer that's not early enough. A Tampa, Florida-woman began camping outside a Best Buy last Wednesday, a full nine days before the Black Friday. She told a local news outlet that she's especially excited about deals for big-screen TVs, which several retailers are breaking out all the deal stops for this year. Stores are also offering huge discounts on video games.
But not everyone is excited about Black Friday, especially store employees who will have to leave their families to work Thanksgiving day. More than 100,000 people have signed a petition protesting Target's scheduled midnight opening, because it will require workers to arrive at the store on Thanksgiving Day. More than 15,000 people have signed a similar petition protesting Best Buy's midnight opening.
While many consumers and some retailers, such as Sears, may be sympathetic to the employees wishes, so far the petitions have been to no avail.
Here are 13 retailers offering big savings on Black Friday:
