Black Friday Shopping For Yourself?

MT. LAUREL, N.J. - Some of the Black Friday deals this year seem too good to be true.

With that in mind a lot of people aren't just using the deals for gift-giving; instead some are buying things for themselves.

Joining us to talk more about the latest trends was retail shopping expert Steve Gartner, president of Metro Commercial.

Some retailers that had never opened on Thanksgiving Day decided to do so for the first time this year, such as Kmart, Sears, Old Navy and some Walmarts.

"They all want to get a jump on capturing those sales dollars," Gartner said. "That's a magic number, $447 billion. And if this holiday season actually surpasses, say, a 3-percent increase – maybe gets to 4 or 5 percent – that doesn't sound like a lot, but that's actually billions of dollars, we might actually see ourselves spending our way out of the recession."

"It's possible," he added. "In '08, sales went down by 5 percent, and we think of '08 as really the depths of the reception. So we really look at these numbers, and little increases of 3, 3.5 4 percent in sales could really be a huge turnaround for the economy."

Could it really happen this year?

"Well, most of the retailers are much more confident this year than they have been in the past," Gartner said. "So, what you'll see in the stores are a few changes from what you saw last year. One, you'll see more hiring, more staff, because the retailers are more confident in the economy that they need more people in the stores."

"You'll also see more inventory, and part of that is a problem," he said. "Retailers have to get rid of everything by around, say, New Year's Day."

What are people buying this year?

Historically, clothing and apparel is the biggest category of holiday spending.

"This year, in the East especially, it hasn't been cold," Gartner said. "So, stores are really stacked to the rafters with fall and winter merchandise. And that's also where the buys are going to be."

In electronics, you see flat-screen televisions going, but there's also that shift to buying for "me."

"A lot of people are going out there and buying for themselves, buying cellular phones and especially tablet computers are the big categories – the iPads and others right now," Gartner said.

Perhaps the biggest spending category could be gift cards, although people aren't rushing to the stores Friday morning for that.

There are 29 shopping days until Christmas, which is about average. With the holiday falling on a Saturday, retailers expect a "Supper Saturday" could come one week earlier.

American Express is trying to lead the charge on a "Small-Business Saturday" this weekend and, of course, there's also Cyber Monday still to come.

"Another reminder is patronize the smaller and regional retailers in the neighborhoods, on the streets," Gartner said.

Before you head out, make sure you click on our list at MyFoxPhilly.com. We have all of the Black Friday bargains in one easy to reference list .

Also, our question of the day: when shopping will you pay with cash or credit ?