Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, has often been pegged as the start of the Christmas shopping season as retail stores discount prices on their sales items, hoping to draw in shoppers. In recent years, retail stores have started providing these discounts on Thanksgiving Day.

Paul Isely, interim associate dean and professor of economics, said sales should have increased during the Black Friday weekend and holiday shopping season this year.

Early reports from the National Retail Federation confirmed this predication, as survey results showed that 3 million more Americans shopped on Black Friday in 2013 than in 2012.

“More people are working and household balance sheets have improved,” Isely said. “There is still a little pent up demand, as well.”

The NRF described the holiday period as November and December and states on its website that during 2013, sales were expected to increase by 3.9 percent to $602 billion. According to the NRF, these holiday sales can account for anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of a retailer’s annual sales and about 20 percent of the total industry sales.

“At the local level, the effect is nearly immediate,” Isely said. “However, it can be felt for months under the right conditions. The higher percent of Michigan content, the bigger the local effect; for instance, if you buy this from a local retailer as opposed to online. Every $100,000 spent adds nearly a job for the year. If it was also produced locally, then it would add 6.”

While Black Friday celebrated and promoted large retail companies, Small Business Saturday occurred the day after and was a day geared to promote smaller, more local businesses. Small Business Saturday was created by American Express in 2010 and recognized by the U.S. Senate in 2011. This year, American Express partnered with the United States Postal Service, FedEx Office, Foursquare and Twitter.

If shoppers spent at least $10 using a registered American Express Card at a participating small business, they received a $10 credit statement. Several stores around Allendale, Grand Rapids and surrounding towns participated in Small Business Saturday.

“As a consumer, you are a key part in helping small businesses thrive,” according to americanexpress.com. “By shopping or dining at a small business throughout the year, you’re showing your support for all the small businesses in your neighborhood and reinvesting in the community you call home.”

Today’s CyberMonday is another day similar to Black Friday, as stores offer deals and discounts to promote online traffic. CyberMonday sales have been steadily increasing since the term was coined by www.shop.org, the NRF’s digital retail community, in 2005. ComScore, a digital research agency, reported that online sales in the U.S. reached a $1.46 billion on CyberMonday 2012, a 17 percent increase from the $1.25 billion reported in 2011. About $1.02 billion was spent in 2010, and $887 million was spent in 2009.

While CyberMonday sales are increasing, they have yet to reach the amount of sales on Black Friday. The total spent on Black Friday in 2012 was $59.1 billion, according to the NRF. About $52.5 billion was spent in 2011, $45 billion in 2010, and $41.2 billion was spent in 2009.

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