Sales started weeks ago, which raises the question: should consumers start shopping early or wait for the official Black Friday? What began as a single day of deals has expanded to a weekend, then a full week and to the giant it is now, essentially an entire month of promotions.

Retailers are competing fiercely to lock in consumer spending before their rivals, pushing discounts earlier every year.

Retail analyst Hitha Herzog told ABC News that retailers are also relying heavily on dynamic and surge pricing to maximize profits. While dynamic pricing has been driven by basic supply and demand — prices rising when demand increases and supply tightens — technology has transformed how quickly retailers can respond. Herzog explained that price adjustments that once took days or weeks can now

See Full Page