Retailers have announced that they’re offering more and better Black Friday Deals than before. For instance J.C. Penney Co. announced it will have 400 Black Friday special promotions. That’s 20% more than it had last year. Kohl’s Corp. is reducing prices by 40% to 50% on Vera Wang and Elle magazine fashion-forward lines, when last year they weren’t even on sale.

Will that be enough to convince shoppers to spend what money they have on Friday? According to an online survey by Deloitte, shoppers seem to be ‘playing chicken’ with retail stores, and are developing a strategy to find the best times to shop in order to find the best deals. Of the 1,000 Americans who participated in the survey from Nov. 21 to 23, 62% said they’d already bought gifts and had purchased most or all of them on sale. Some 45% of them said they’re planning to shop later in the Christmas season to get better discounts, and 21% said they were planning to start shopping after December 25, according to the survey data.

Retailers seem to be determined to get every dime out of the already-stretched-thin consumers. These are trying times for consumer culture, ones which have the penchant to reveal underlying ridiculous aspects of it.

For instance "We know the economic reality customers are facing this holiday season, and in response, Kohl's remains focused on helping customers stretch their budgets," said Kevin Mansell, the company’s CEO.

Will people keep “stretch their budgets” and more importantly the idea that happiness equals material possession? Or will retailers fail to turn a profit as Americans spend their money on something else and find more meaningful ways to show their love to friends and family than impersonal goods built on an assembly line and bought in a store?

Just some food for thought for the end. EB out.