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The traditional start of the Christmas shopping season gets underway Friday, known to retailers as Black Friday, since it's the time they hope to be able to move those balance sheets from unprofitable (red) into the black.

Retailers have been battered by the recession, but have seen some signs of hope in recent months. According to the National Retail Federation, retail industry sales, excluding auto, gas and restaurant sales, were down 1.3 percent over October of last year and flat over September.

Prime Outlets in Grove City, about an hour north of Pittsburgh, will be kicking things off not long after shoppers have digested their Thanksgiving dinners. Its Midnight Madness sale starts, predictably, at midnight.

Michele Czerwinksi, senior marketing manager at Grove City, said the weather plays a big role in the turnout to the midnight event, but the crowds are generally in a good mood.

"This year, with the tough economy, people are really looking for values," she said. She arrives in Grove City at 9 p.m. Thursday, and doesn't quit until the following morning.

This year is the fourth time the mall has opened at midnight on Thanksgiving, and Czerwinski said it's become a tradition of sorts for some area families, who shop together.

Other area malls will be opening early, as well. Ross Park Mall, north of the city, opens its doors at 5 a.m., as does South Hills Village, south of the city. Monroeville Mall, to the east, kicks things off at 6 a.m., and the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills will be open starting at 7 a.m. Friday.

Some consumers have already started their holiday shopping, according to market research firm The NPD Group. Twenty percent of those polled in NPD's annual holiday survey said they started their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving this year.

“This year while Black Friday is still an important business indicator, it is not an obvious one,” Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with the NPD Group, said in a prepared statement. “There may be some panic when the rush seems lighter than past years, but based on our holiday market research that doesn't necessarily mean less business in the long-run.”

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