HACKENSACK, N.J. – Today, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, the strategy for both consumers and retailers will be “the earlier, the better.”

Early-bird shoppers will get the best bargains, and retailers are betting the stores that capture the most early birds will net the most profit in a tough season.

Fears about high energy prices, the housing slump and the credit crunch have retailers worrying that consumers will have less cash to spend this year. The National Retail Federation said in September that sales for November and December could rise at the slowest pace in five years. So retailers want to grab that cash before consumers stop spending.

The federation is expecting at least 55 million people will be shopping on Black Friday, and says that number could rise as high as 133 million if the deals are good enough.

“Retailers – especially this year – are going to be offering a lot of aggressive promotions on Black Friday to try to bring in the shopper, and I think shoppers are going to be very selective about where they choose to spend their money,” said federation spokeswoman Ellen Davis.

Black Friday, so named because that was when retailers turned a profit for the year, usually isn’t the busiest shopping day in terms of sales volume. Most years, the Saturday before Christmas is the sales volume leader. Last year, the day started out strong, but dropped off after the so-called door-buster deals expired.

Retailers have learned that on Black Friday, the first stop consumers make often turns out to be their last stop, or the place where they spend the lion’s share of their budget for the day.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has moved the most aggressively to get a head start on grabbing holiday dollars. The nation’s biggest retailer offered holiday discounts on toys in October, rolled out pre-Black Friday deals in early December, and now is urging consumers to go on their computers on Thanksgiving and beat today’s crowds by purchasing deals online.

Toys “R” Us Inc., the toy and baby products retailer, has followed Wal-Mart’s lead and said it will reveal 40 “super-secret door busters” on its Web site on Thanksgiving, so shoppers can plan their Black Friday shopping. An additional 60 discounted toys will be included in a Black Friday circular. Toys “R” Us is offering 50 percent to 60 percent off on the discounted toys, with deeper cuts on more products than in previous years. Stores will open at 5 a.m.

Davis said retailers want to have a busy Black Friday, and offer promotions to make that happen, for both practical and psychological reasons.

“The day after Thanksgiving is when everyone acknowledges that the holiday season is under way,” she said, “and it’s time to get moving.”