Well, here we are again. The holiday season is upon us and the timeless rituals of the year-end observances begin. On Thursday, many of us will toss the calorie-counting charts aside and devour stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes with abandon (yes, there will be turkey as well, but that sometimes seems to be more of an afterthought around those sinfully delicious side dishes). Then begins what, for no small number of our compatriots, is the main event of the weekend – Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. In keeping with the hyper-frenetic urgency of holiday consumer messaging – where it seems that the Christmas season every year inches closer and closer to Labor Day – so it is that Black Friday appears no longer content to restrict itself to a single day of the week. Many retailers have announced plans to open their doors on Thursday evening, leading one to imagine what it would be like to join the mad scrum-rush into Wal-Mart or Best Buy alongside those who have not yet digested their pumpkin pie.

Given how jaded many of us have become over the retail industry’s ever-insistent commercialism, it is perhaps somewhat surprising that the decision to open the doors on Thanksgiving night has created a rather vocal backlash, as if to finally say “enough already!” #OccupyBlackFriday, perhaps? The prevailing mood is not one of good cheer. Consumer confidence ticked up a bit in the latest reading and retail sales have managed to stay in positive territory (albeit modestly so). But GDP growth saw another downward revision (from 2.5 to 2%) while the interminable Eurozone crisis continues to be the wet blanket snuffing out any enduring holiday cheer among investors.

Still, Black Friday often manages to surprise, and as retailers and observers digest the data points coming in over the next couple weeks (along with those of Black Friday’s online twin sister, Cyber Monday) the results could contribute to a directional trend for the market heading to the end of the year. Black Friday’s impact on retailers cannot be overstated – as much as 25% of their annual sales can actually come from this one day, when some surveys tell us that a full 50% of all US shoppers will be engaged in some form of retail commerce.

There is a new twist this year – another day to note on the calendar in between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This is Small Business Saturday, when local establishments are imploring their neighbors to divert at least some of their holiday budgets from the big boxes and chains to support local businesses. Perhaps that message will resonate among the anti-Black-Friday-on-Thanksgiving-Thursday crowd and give an added boost to the weekend’s sales totals.

Of course, another time-honored tradition as Yuletide approaches is to take stock of the year and begin thinking about plans for the next. How did our portfolios perform in this year of so much volatility played out to a backdrop of constant uncertainty? Have our financial goals changed? Are we more concerned about reaching those goals with all that is going on in the world? Maybe now would be a good time to get a head start on all the to-do lists that await as we head into 2012.

In the meantime, all of us at Jemstep wish you a very happy Thanksgiving and a prosperous start to the holidays!

Tell Us:

Will you be hitting the stores before your pumpkin pie digests?

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