With stomach bulging and with fingers still slick with traces of butter and turkey residue, eager shoppers, clinging to coupons and advertising inserts, exited their vehicles and haphazardly gathered in a makeshift line. In the dark, and despite cold and risk of serious bodily injury, consumers watched the doors swing open at a Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) in southern Michigan, and everyone was thinking the same... Game on.

For retailers, Black Friday is the World Series, Opening Night, and a Justin Bieber concert all rolled into one, and with the season accounting for a third of many company's earnings, stakes are sky high.

This year began with bang when several retailers, including Wal-Mart, Target (NYSE: TGT), and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) opening their doors several hours earlier than on previous Black Friday's, while others such as Macy’s (NYSE: M) opted for the more traditional midnight opening. Shoppers are also seeing increased online Black Friday deals, which is a bit of a change considering the traditional allure of door buster deals.

This year customers are expected to shell out 4.1 percent more for holiday gifts than last year, according to data from the National Retail Federation. This is down from a gain of 5.6 percent last year.

Top Black Friday deals include low priced TVs and video games, and more trendy gifts like tablets computers and smartphones.

Beyond the headlines and price slashing, investors will soon be parsing the data to find winners and losers, and though it is probably way too early to tell, it is a sure bet margin and total revenue are top of mind, and for struggling names like J.C. Penny (NYSE: JCP), which is attempting a turn round, investors may simply want to know if they can remain relevant.

Insiders' Blog

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