Retailers open early discount for US 'Black Friday'

US retailers opened their doors at midnight and discounted merchandise as much as 70 per cent on the day after Thanksgiving to counter what may be the weakest holiday shopping season in six years.

Individuals may spend an average of $616 on holiday gifts this year, down 29 percent from a year earlier, according to a Gallup Inc poll. That raises the pressure on chains facing declining consumer confidence and the prospect of a recession.

“We’re out to save money,” said 62-year-old Jeanne Molloy, who was taking a bus from New York City to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, New York, with a friend and an empty suitcase yon Thursday. “The economy is bad.”

Retailers promoted “doorbuster” deals to attract customers on the day traditionally called “Black Friday.” The day after Thanksgiving was said to be when retailers started to make their annual profits, having paid off their costs from sales earlier in the year.

“The consumer is programmed to buy right now,” Gilbert Harrison, chairman and chief executive officer of New York-based investment bank Financo Inc, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “They see bargains like they’ve never seen before.”

Best Buy Co, the country’s biggest electronics retailer, opened its stores at 5 am It advertised a Toshiba Corp satellite laptop computer for $379.99, which was a $270 discount.

At the Fort Henry Mall in Kingsport, Tennessee, about 150 people milled around at 4:45 am, waiting for the opening of Belks Inc and JC Penney Co stores offering “doorbuster” specials on sweaters, binoculars, and luggage.

Family Priorities: Brenda Little, 42, said she was disappointed at the sales this year and said the only reason she was out at the crack of dawn was for her 14-year-old daughter, Marie, who combed the mall in search of a cheap iPod and snow boots.

Her family is cutting back their Christmas budget because of the economy, drawing names with in-laws to buy a single gift for one person rather than smaller items for everybody, Little said.

Her husband, a contractor, has survived one round of layoffs at his company, Little said. While his job is safe for now, “you still have to watch it down the road in case just after Christmas that does happen,” she said.

November and December sales at stores open at least a year may rise 1 per cent, the smallest gain since 2002, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York-based trade group.

Discount Lures: Retailers used lower prices at earlier hours to win customers that were starting their holiday shopping with less than four weeks before Christmas.

Kohl’s Corp, the fourth-largest US department store, opened at 4 am Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Macy’s Inc had a 5 am start.

Retail stocks have tumbled this year along with the U.S. economy.