pre dawn

Early reports indicated that while Black Friday is missing the usual mayhem associated with it, the good news for merchants is that pre-dawn shoppers are still clearly eager to spend money on juicy discounts on toys cashmere sweaters and gadgets.

Here's a Black Friday reality check: Of the hordes of pre-dawn shoppers who line up for hours outside stores on the day after Thanksgiving, most will not bag the best bargains that appear in merchants' circulars.