Nov 19, 2008

Ready, Set, Shop and SaveBy Jennifer SmithNews10.net

Sacramento, CA – Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving which marks the beginning of the traditional holiday shopping season. According to a Maritz shopping poll, 41 percent of respondents indicated they will shop on Black Friday, higher than the 37 percent noted last year.

Joining news10.net Live_Online Tuesday was Katrina Salazar, Certified Public Accountant. She said the average Black Friday shopper plans to spend 45 percent of their total holiday budget on the day after Thanksgiving with this shopping breakdown: most shopped for items, 23 percent – clothes and 17 percent – electronics.

Surveyed shoppers plan to spend a total of $546 for holiday gifts, which is 14 percent lower than the $637 average from last year. Polls show that the most impacted segment is gift-giving between extended family and friends.

An estimated 29 percent of gifting this holiday will include gift cards. Salazar suggested this Web site Swapagift which allows users to buy, sell or swap gift cards.

There’s also alternative giving, a form of gift giving where the giver makes a donation to a charity in the recipient’s name. This idea was first proposed by Ben Franklin and later came to be known as “Pay it Forward.”

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