Local retailers hope to avoid lumps of coal landing in their stockings by offering deep discounts and door buster craziness on the day after Thanksgiving.

Because of a tight economy, price is more important than almost anything else this holiday shopping season.

"I think the good buys will lure people in," Belk Department Store Manager Jim Tyler said. "Things are looking good. We have the items and the prices."

And the deals.

Tyler said gift cards ranging from $5 to $5,000 will be distributed to the first 200 shoppers on Black Friday — so called because it's the day that struggling retailers can turn a profit or go "in the black" for the year.

Tyler expects to find eager shoppers when Belk opens its doors at 5 a.m. Friday.

"We have super discounts and we expect a lot of sales," he said.

Last year, the National Retail Federation estimated that 60 million people shopped on Black Friday, with the average shopper spending nearly $350 over the weekend.

This year, high gas prices, rising energy costs and the crisis in the financial markets are causing cutbacks in spending. The National Retail Federation predicts holiday sales overall will rise 2.2 percent, the slowest growth since 2002.

That's why retailers use discounts on Black Friday to try to jump-start consumer spending.

"Consumers are conditioned to expect Black Friday to be the best day of the year to get the best deals possible, and especially in a down economy, more consumers may be willing to get out of bed super early to be the first in line with bargains," said Kathy Grannis, National Retail Federation media relations manager.

The local outlet mall wants shoppers to come as they are - even if it means they are dressed for bed. The first 500 pajama-wearing shoppers to visit the tent located outside Bose Factory Store at midnight will receive a goodie bag filled with exclusive offers and even a special edition pair of Jockey pajamas, said Leesa Bodden of Prime Outlets — Gaffney.

"Historically, the outlet category does well in times of recession compared with other retail," Bodden said. "Our traffic has remained steady, while full-price (stores) has tracked declines. We are expecting to see new shoppers looking for a bargain, some who may never have experienced the joy of outlet shopping but are now pleasantly surprised to see all the saving."

Big Lots manager Anna Hardin said she expects cash registers to get a workout at her store this holiday season as shoppers try to stretch money as far as possible.

"We see more and more people coming to discount and closeouts rather than the high-end retailers," she said. "We have some really good deals."

Wal-Mart is a retailer known for offering bigger and better deals. This holiday shopping season is no exception.

"There seems to be more quantity of deals on a variety of items," Wal-Mart Supercenter Manager Andrew Williams said. "Customers seem to be more conscious on what they are spending their money on,"

Williams said Wal-Mart will open both front entrance doors at 4 a.m. on Black Friday.

"I got here at 3:30 a.m. last year and there already were a lot of people lined up," he said.

Gene Moorhead, executive director of the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, thinks it's likely to be a blue Christmas for most local merchants.

"While we see overall spending down this holiday season, Prime Outlets, Hamrick's, Inc., and those merchants offering perceived deep discounts should do very well since we have a large draw from neighboring counties in both Carolinas," Moorhead said. "We agree with AAA that traveling will be down, but now that fuel prices are the lowest in three years, the hospitality industry should do better than originally forecasted. Fuel prices from Exit 80 to Grover are the lowest on the east coast."