AUBURN — With experts predicting consumer spending will be up this holiday season, more stores are opening as early as possible for Black Friday, which in Maine starts one minute past midnight.

Nationally, many stores are opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Maine law doesn’t allow large stores to open on Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter.

Best Buy, Walmart, JCPenney, Kmart, Big Lots and Kohl’s will be among the local stores opening at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

Other openings will be staggered. For example, Lowe’s, The Home Depot and Lamey-Wellehan will open at 5 a.m., Sports Authority at 6 a.m., BJ’s Wholesale Club and Books-A-Million at 7 a.m. and Petco at 8 a.m.

Forecasting predicts shoppers will spend between 2.4 percent and 3.9 percent more this year, according to University of Maine economics professor James C. McConnon.

“Consumer confidence is still cautious,” he said. “There’s a shorter shopping season, but retailers are going to provide some good deals, and consumers are going to be out there looking for them. Both will benefit.”

Christmas shopping is important for the economy, McConnon said. “For many businesses, it represents 25 to 40 percent of annual sales, maybe more for many retailers.”

Although this year’s projected spending increase is modest, it’s still an increase.

“I’m optimistic,” McConnon said.

From January through September in Maine, consumer sales rose 5.1 percent from the same time last year, McConnon said. Also up are wages and salaries, 2.1 percent higher from January through June than 2012.

Nationally, the stock market has improved. Gas prices are lower. Real estate prices have risen. Savings rates have grown, which means more consumers have money available.

In Maine, unemployment numbers have improved. “There are still a lot of people struggling in this economy: 47,000 people are unemployed, but that’s down 3,800,” McConnon said. “Generally, we have positive factors coming in here.”

Another trend that’s grown is shoppers being more likely to support local specialty stores. Those stores generate fewer sales than larger stores, “but their growth has outperformed department stores,” McConnon said. “Since the recession, there’s been more of a focus on shopping locally.”

In some communities, shop-local Saturday follows Black Friday. Also, an alternative “Plaid Friday” gives discounts to shoppers who wear plaid at local stores. The plaid represents how “weaving individual threads creates a strong fabric, or community,” McConnon said.

While online shopping continues to grow, old-fashioned hitting the stores continues to rule, McConnon said. A whopping one-fourth of all consumers plan to shop on Black Friday, he said.

Retailers and police have made plans to ensure shoppers and retailers are safe during “door-buster” sales.

“We’ve met with all the major retailers to go over what they have going on,” Auburn Deputy Chief Jason Moen said. “Walmart is hiring four of our officers to assist them with crowds at the 12:01 a.m. opening. Best Buy is also hiring an officer.”

Police patrols will be out in force during the night and throughout the day. “Our biggest calls are traffic accidents,” Moen said.

Auburn Best Buy Manager Mike Sprague said his store is setting up iron gates outside to create a safe and orderly line and to prevent line-jumping when the doors open.

Best Buy will again give out color-coordinated tickets to those in line, guaranteeing they’ll get the item they’ve come for and “to make sure we don’t have a mad rush,” Sprague said.

Are you going to be shopping on Black Friday? You can show us the shopping, the lines or the crowds by snapping a photo and sending it to us.

The Sun Journal has set up a special email address, [email protected], for you to send us your photos and stories. Please attach no more than two photos to a single email and let us know where and when they were taken. You also can post the photos on our Facebook page, http://www. facebook.com/sunjournal.

We will publish our favorite photos on SunJournal.com. Some may be used in the print edition.

And good luck. We hope you get some good deals.