Retailers ready for Black Friday, are you?

LANSING, Mich. (Marketwire) - Michigan retailers enter the big Michigan shopping day weekend with greater optimism and an earlier schedule of promotions to attract holiday shoppers.

According to the latest Michigan Retail Index survey, a joint project of Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, nearly one fourth of retailers, 23 percent, said they started their holiday promotions earlier this year than last, continuing a trend of recent years. Only 2 percent said they started later.

"Michigan Shopping Day marks the official start of the holiday shopping season, but retailers have been holding special holiday promotions for several weeks already," said MRA President and CEO James P. Hallan. "It's all about getting the season off to the best start possible by attracting early shoppers."

Nearly two-thirds, 64 percent, of retailers said in a previous survey that they expect their sales for the season to be as good or better than last year, with most of those respondents forecasting increases. Hallan said optimism springs from a more stable national economy and improvements in the auto industry and the financial, housing and stock markets. "While higher unemployment is a challenge this year, the overall economy is on a firmer foundation than last year, when we entered the holiday season after nearly falling off a cliff."

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Do you think that Black Friday shopping is worth it? Would you rather shop until you drop or stay home and let the stuffing settle this Friday? Leave your opinion in the comment section below.