Shoppers Already Lined Up For Deals

KENNESAW, GA -- Retailers are holding their breath waiting to see how successful or unsuccessful the holiday shopping season will be. Typically they get a pretty good idea on the Friday after Thanksgiving. On Black Friday stores open their doors earlier than they do all year.

What is it worth to make sure you get the best bargain on Black Friday? Is it worth standing in line for more than 12 hours? It was to several shoppers who lined up outside the Best Buy in Kennesaw on Thursday. They pitched tents for an overnight stay. While about 20-customers waited, some of them killed time kicking a soccer ball around. Others played pool on a mini-pool table.

Brandon Denton of Kennesaw has done this for five years straight. "I'm going after the Sony laptop," he said. "Its $399, has a 320gb hard drive, 4gb with a Windows Mobile 7."

Across Cobb Place Parkway shoppers were streaming into the Old Navy store which was open on Thanksgiving. Old Navy decided to start Black Friday on Thursday. Sabah Mohamed said she found plenty of deals. She had the proof in a cart full of merchandise. "Basically everything I bought is only ten dollars," she said.

Misty Harp says she'll shop on Friday too, but decided to shop on Thanksgiving because of the great deals. "They have jeans for ten dollars for my little girl, I got to get her some jeans," she said.

This is the time retailers get an idea what holiday spending will be like this year. It can make or break a business. Denton said he'll spend less this year. "Because the economy's a little bit down, I'm going to spend less and hold on to some of the money I might need in the future," he said. "This year you have to think about it," said Mohamed.

Retailers are hoping to exhale with a sigh of relief after Black Friday.