retailers

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, seems to be starting earlier every year. First we saw stores opening to hordes of shoppers at 4 a.m. Friday, then at 3 a.m., a few years back. Now some big-box retailers aren't even waiting that long. They're opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day this year, hoping families will eat and run to the nearest mall.

If my friend Beth's recent holiday buying is any indication, shoppers are in for a more-connected experience. Last week, my 82-year-old buddy wanted to buy a platter at her church bazaar. She was met with a "newfangled credit-card" gadget.

From the time that F.W. Woolworth invented the five-and-dime store in the late 19th century, Americans have always been crazy about low prices. But it was Douglas J. Dayton and his family's Target chain of stores who sold Americans on the idea that buying inexpensive wares at a discount store could be fashionable as well as frugal.

Who doesn't like a great deal?  And now, it seems every store around has an app promising to put "deals of the day" at your fingertips.  So what's a person to do?  Deal management is becoming a full time job.