BARBOURSVILLE — Following Thanksgiving, the three largest Christmas holiday shopping days of the year start with Black Friday on Nov. 23, Small Business Saturday on Nov. 24 and Cyber Monday on Nov. 26.

Patty Dickess and Ashley Hunter, both from the Ironton, Ohio, area, said although they have already started holiday shopping, Black Friday is the day they are most excited about.

“Black Friday shopping is a tradition for us,” Dickess said. “We start making our holiday shopping strategy earlier in the week and then we go really early to the places offering the best deals.”

Hunter says while Black Friday shopping can be exciting and fun, the following day on Small Business Saturday can be just as fun.

“It’s important to support the small businesses in our communities as well,” she said. “Patty and I love holiday shopping and enjoy all three of these shopping dates.”

Tara Fischer, of Winfield, West Virginia, doesn’t do Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

“I don’t really care for shopping at the stores on Black Friday due to the large crowds,” Fischer said. “However, I enjoy going to the local shops on Small Business Saturday. I really like holiday shopping at stores closer to Christmas and online for some gifts.”

Fischer said she prefers to start her Christmas shopping after Thanksgiving.

“I know I might miss some good deals, but I don’t care for the large crowds,” she said. “I normally finish up by Dec. 22.”

Womply, a consulting firm for small businesses, recently released its holiday season study for West Virginia as part of a comprehensive “State of Local Retail Report,” which analyzes transactions at thousands of local, independent retailers across America for every day of 2017 to uncover retail trends nationally and in all 50 states and predict what might happen this year.

In West Virginia, Black Friday is the second best revenue day of the year, with retailers seeing a 128 percent increase in sales over the average day, according to the study.

“All of the top five sales days and the top three sales weeks of the year come between Black Friday and the last Saturday before Christmas,” according to Dan Lalli, communications specialist for Womply. “West Virginia retailers make 19.1 percent of their total yearly revenue during the holiday season, ranking them in the top half nationally, at No. 20, for sales volume during that period. Local shops also see a 14.2 percent spike in average daily revenue during the holidays, which also ranks No. 20 nationally.”

Small Business Saturday is also a good revenue day of the year in West Virginia, with retailers seeing a 54 percent increase in sales over the average day, ranking them in the top half nationally, at No. 8, for sales on that day, the study showed.

Cyber Monday, which is the online world’s answer to Black Friday, also ranks as one of the best revenue days of the year nationally, but not so high on West Virginia’s list.

Based on Adobe Analytics data, Adobe predicts U.S. online sales will increase 14.8 percent, totaling $124.1 billion, while offline retail spending is expected to increase a modest 2.7 percent.

Cyber Monday is anticipated to set a record as the largest- and fastest-growing online shopping day of the year with $7.7 billion in sales, a 17.6 percent increase year over year, according to Adobe.

For anyone wanting to make a holiday shopping game plan, the following stores will open for Black Friday deals.

Walmart will open at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day and the prices are valid from then through Friday. Walmart’s online sale begins the night before Thanksgiving.

Best Buy opens at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Target will open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and close at 1 a.m. Friday before reopening at 7 a.m. Friday.

Kohl’s will open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving, the same time as last year.

Macy’s will also open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and close at 2 a.m. Friday before reopening four hours later.

Jewelry, electronics, televisions, appliances and toys are just some of the items with large discounts, according to industry shopping trends.