Southern California shoppers will help decide just how black Black Friday will be this year. KPBS reporter Erik Anderson has details.
The day after Thanksgiving is typically one of the busiest shopping days of the year. This fall's financial meltdown means a successful holiday shopping season is critical for survival. George Whalin is a retail analyst in San Marcos. He says the rollback in consumer spending bodes poorly for some stores.
Whalin: If you look at some categories of merchandise it's the make or break time of year. It certainly is true with toys and jewelry and those kinds of highly leveraged gift type categories.
Whalin says luxury retailers have done pretty well in past downturns, but he says they're under the gun this time. He says the huge decline in the value of the stock market will pinch spending in that sector of the market. Erik Anderson, KPBS News.
