Hoping for a 'Green' Holiday ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) -

The day after Thanksgiving is usually seen as the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. And Michigan retailers are optimistic this will be a 'green' Christmas.

A recent poll by the Michigan Retailers Association shows two-thirds of state store owners expect this year's holiday sales numbers will be as good or better than last year.

Of course, last year, holiday shopping coincided with the economic collapse and increasingly bleak news for Michigan's auto industry.

Tom Scott is with the Michigan Retailers Association. He says by comparison, Michigan's high unemployment rate is not expected to put as big a damper on holiday sales.

"There's still some uncertainty out there of course," says Scott, "But there is a sense that we've turned a corner, a little bit, we've bottomed out and started to climb back up."

We'll get an early look at holiday sales later this week .when the retailers association releases its October sales numbers. © Copyright 2010, Michigan Radio