Black Friday will be here before you know it. Lots of stores are already giving shoppers a preview of great deals they are planning. Some stores will be opening on Thanksgiving to get an early start, but others have decided that's a time for families and they will remain closed.

The biggest announcement on that front came from the Mall of America in Minnesota. Once that news was released, other big chains began to follow suit. Academy Sports, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, Burlington Dillard’s, GameStop, Harbor Freight, Hobby Lobby, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Office Depot and OfficeMax, Petco, PetSmart, Pier 1 Imports, Sam’s Club, Staples, and T..J. Maxx have all announced they will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

What about our local Malls? Pierre Bossier Mall will be opening at 6pm on Thanksgiving night for the merchants that do want to open up. Mall St. Vincent is also planning to open at 6pm, but not all the stores in the Malls will be open. The Louisiana Boardwalk will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but will open at midnight on Black Friday for those who want to get started really early.

More than 100 million consumers plan to do some shopping over the Black Friday weekend. That number continues to climb. It was 87 million in 2014 and 99 million in 2015.

Those early morning deals on the actual day (Black Friday) are fading just a bit.

Retailers are now looking for more creative ways to land your business. It's no longer the "he who opens the earliest, gets the buck". Many large companies are turning to online specials. The National Retail Federation says "more consumers want the convenience of shopping from home. And some just don’t want to wait — 40 percent of consumers begin holiday shopping by Halloween."

Retailers are also optimistic about the economy and hope that will spark increased sales this holiday season.

The NRF is projecting sales to jump by more than 3.5% in November and December and bring in more than $650 billion. But an even bigger change is online sales where retailers expect to see a 10% increase in online buying to more than $117 billion dollars.

Check out all the Black Friday ads and deals.

You'll find great specials on electronics, clothing, toys and much more. But in most of the cases, be sure to do your homework ahead of time and don't be disappointed if the store runs out of that one great deal you just had to have.

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