By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO
AP Retail Writer
Lollipops from Dylan’s Candy Bar are displayed at s J.C. Penney store in New York. As consumers go, so goes the economy. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, so a strong shopping season could be just the boost the economy needs.NEW YORK – Retailers awaiting the arrival of Black Friday are on the edge. How well they do during the biggest shopping season of the year will have lasting consequences not just on them, but the still-fragile economic recovery.
This weekend, many stores will for the first time use midnight openings along with the usual bevy of deals as they try to lure consumers, whose appetite for good-buys has been increasing since the Great Recession.
Economists and business executives will be watching closely.