Black Friday

I did my first ever Black Friday shopping this year. It wasn't that bad. The throng I feared didn't materialize; parking wasn't any worse than any other shopping day.

Tallied figures show that retailers like Wal-Mart posted gains. However, total sales overall were down 1% from last year even though crowds were bigger this year.

That's not surprising. Black Friday is the busiest but not the biggest in sales, usually ranking fifth behind the two weekends before Christmas.

With the war in Iraq, high unemployment, expensive prescription costs and exhorbitant heating bills, people will think hard before parting with their hard earned money.

Even retailers know this, which is why many mid and low-level ones stocked high-end items, thinking they will recoup profits from more affluent shoppers, the one segment of society truly "in the black".

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