The ads for Black Friday, that huge shopping day after Thanksgiving, have been out for weeks now. In fact, they seem to arrive earlier and earlier each year.
The day marks the start of a period when retailers expect to see their profits move from ?in the red? to ?in the black,? or from losses to gains. But the day has been slipping in importance to retailers, and customers, and is no longer the busiest shopping day of the year. Black Friday also ushers in Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday.
Here to talk about the economic impact of Black Friday, and to offer advice for making sure that great deal you see advertised really is a great deal, are economics professor and Academic Director for the Master's in Applied Economics at the University of Cincinnati, Michael Jones; and Cincinnati BBB Community Outreach Specialist, Sandra Guile.