Divide and conquer that is what Sandy Gibe, Jay, Okla., did this morning at Neosho Wal-Mart Supercenter. “There are four of us here, so we went different places in the store,” Gibe said. “That way, we get what we are looking for.” Early morning shoppers flocked to area stores for the traditional day after Thanksgiving sales, also known as “Black Friday.” Wal-Mart associates lined the aisles with covered items from DVDs to toys to computers to clothes and other specials. Then at 5 a.m., Wal-Mart Store Manager Chuck Cornelison announced the opening for the Wal-Mart associates to open the boxes holding the special items. Two of the items Gibe was searching for – and picked up – was a vacuum cleaner and little pajamas. “The sales have been good to me,” said Gibe. “This is my first stop. Next is JC Penney’s.” With her cart overflowing, Darla Woodrum, Goodman, and her daughter, Chantel, braved the cold weather and the crowd as well. “I have two kids pending marriage, so we decided to come out here and get small appliances,” Darla said. “It has been awhile since I came out here for Black Friday. The sales have been pretty good, not bad. The crowd is not bad at all, I have seen it worse.” Darla said Chantel, who is one of her children who will be getting married, came out today to push the cart. “I grab the stuff,” Darla said. “I wish that I was in bed right now,” added Chantel. “This is my first year doing this.” Making their way up and down the aisles were Mark and LaTona Ruth. “This is a ritual. She (LaTona) drags me out of bed at the pre-crack of dawn,” Mark said. “We are basically getting toys for the kids and we had a son who recently got married, so we are getting him some small appliances,” LaTona said. LaTona’s strategy. “I give Mark the toy section and I will get everything else,” said LaTona. According to the latest survey conducted by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation, up to 132.9 million Americans will shop today, Saturday or Sunday this weekend. While 55.1 million people said they definitely plan to shop this weekend, 77.8 million said they may shop. Many of this year’s post-Thanksgiving shoppers will be young adults 18-24, as nearly half of them (47.2 percent) said they definitely plan to shop the weekend after Thanksgiving. “The crowd has been really good, a real good turnout,” Cornelison said. “We are very pleased with the folks that came out here this morning. As a company, I think we did great job this year.” “We had people waiting for us when we opened at 8 a.m.,” Mills Park Centre owner John Mills said. “It has been steady all morning long.” Some of the items for sale were recliners, including a “two for one” deal and percentages off. “I think that we have seen an increase over the years,” Mills said. Electronics - especially high-definition plasma and LCD TVs, GPS navigation devices, Apple's iPhone and MP3 players - were expected to be among the most sought-after items. This year's Black Friday rush is even more critical for retailers, who are facing a tepid sales forecast for holiday 2007. The National Retail Federation expects total holiday sales to grow 4 percent to $475 billion, versus a 4.6 percent increase in 2006.
 “Though some people incorporate holiday shopping into their Thanksgiving traditions, others wait to see how good the deals are before they set their alarm clocks for Friday morning,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Retailers know that customers are looking for good values this holiday season and many will be offering prices and promotions that are too good to pass up.”