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Retailers Promote Early Black Friday Deals

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Black Friday deals are creeping in. Most of us have hardly finished our Halloween candy, holiday shopping deals are already popping up in stores and online. It's all part of a growing trend to get shoppers in the door much earlier.

Seven weeks before Christmas, and retailers have already unveiled the holiday signs, but some customers are loving it.

"Yes, it's all about beating the crowds. If I need help I want to find somebody to ask questions," said shopper Angie Broomell.

According to Shopper Trak, in-store Black Friday sales were just over $10 billion dollars last year. And as impressive as that sounds, numbers actually took a dip from the previous year, as more shoppers ditched the checkout counters to shop online.

Now, stores are rolling out early deals to bring customers back through the doors.

The unofficial shopping holiday Black Friday, is a make-or-break showdown for many retailers, as many are making it a month-long event.

"I definitely think that a lot of retailers are being very strategic right now on how they celebrate Black Friday," said Ana Serafin Smith, National Retail Federation.

While Amazon started Black Friday deals November 1st, other sales start this weekend, tapping into the more than 40 percent of customers who started shopping before Halloween. Retailers anticipate shoppers will spend billions this holiday season.

"Preparing weeks in advance is critical for many retailers, because they see the most foot traffic in the last three months of the year," said Smith.

"What we have found is that people are looking for really great values as early in the season as possible," said Michael Rakowski, Best Buy.

After years of a steady increase in holiday shopping, the National Retail Federation is predicting a dip this season, so they're unveiling some deals early.

"I want to get what I want now, because I know they bring in all the good stuff getting ready for the holidays, so let me get the good stuff. If I have to pay a little more, so be it, but I know I am going to get what I want," said Best Buy shopper Willie Ray.

Whether you have a Black Friday game plan or not, stores like Target definitely do, beefing up seasonal staffing to keep lines shorter and shelves stocked.

"We're looking to bring on about another 40 people, we've brought in about 70 for the holiday season, but we're looking about for another 40 for those last minute cashiers as well as our overnight," said Jessica Hackley, Human Resources Manager with Canton Target.

But a longer shopping season means less consumers on actual Black Friday. Last year's Thanksgiving weekend revenue was down more than 10% from 2014.

"It's our number one sale of the year," said Hackley.

For consumers, a full month of deals may just be the gift that keeps on giving.

As for Black Friday, some stores like Costco and TJ Maxx have declared they'll be closed on Thanksgiving.

But those few hours might not matter much when the deals have already started.

Target Canton is hosting a hiring event Friday morning from 10-2 p.m.

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