At an hour when most people are still asleep, Raquel Nash will be standing in line at Wal-Mart.

“I’m usually at Wal-Mart by 3:30 a.m. or 4 a.m.,” said Nash of Olmstead. “I’m a veteran; I’ve done it for 18, 20 years.”

And while Black Friday - so named because it marks the day when many retailers’ budgets emerge from red-designated shortfalls - draws many out of bed at 3 a.m., it has become a custom for Nash.

“It’s not so much (about) getting a good deal,” she said. “It’s the tradition of going.”

As the biggest shopping day of the year draws close, stores are relying on traditional tactics to lure customers through their doors and offset predicted low holiday sales, experts say.

Many store managers are offering more discounts and bringing back layaway plans to attract shoppers, said Rick Shannon, marketing department chairman and associate marketing professor at Western Kentucky University.

“Price is a biggie,” he said. “And stores are bringing back layaway ... it allows them to pay off things in three months instead of now. People who are living paycheck to paycheck, they can scrape $10 out of a paycheck.”

J.C. Penney in Greenwood Mall will open at 4 a.m. Friday, and the store is marketing its slashed prices.

“Our whole store is on sale this time of year, honestly,” said Russ Dillingham, store manager. “Black Friday is historically when the Christmas shopping period does start. This time of year, it is the biggest volume day for us.”

Pier 1 Imports on Scottsville Road is offering big holiday discounts for the first time in a while.

“We’re putting a lot of stuff on sale for the first time ever,” said Dawn Rinehart, store manager. “It’s the first year we’ve run a commercial for a long time, because we’ve never done anything big the day after Thanksgiving.”

The furniture and home decoration store is opening its doors at 8 a.m. Friday and has hired someone to manage the lines of shoppers.

“I personally don’t think it’s ever been this big,” Rinehart said.

This year, Target is opening its doors at 6 a.m. and will give Black Friday customers a map, which will lead them to the store’s sales.

“It usually takes (customers) 30 to 40 minutes to get into the building. It’s a constant stream,” said Brandy Stinson, assistant store manager. “It’s a very crazy day.”

Target is heavily marketing GPS systems and toys, such as Elmo Live, Nerf and Barbie products, Stinson said.

In fact, stores are staying away from big-priced promotions and are marketing affordable gifts.

“You’re not seeing advertisements for $1,000 big screen TVs,” Shannon said. “And, again, a lot of it will be practical stuff,” such as clothes and backpacks.

And while customer lines might stretch through the doors, shoppers will not necessarily dole out handfuls of money.

“You will see the crowds, but sales will be dismal overall,” Shannon said. “You won’t see people walk out with two carts full. It will be a more selective crowd.”

Amy Proctor of Bowling Green plans to drop by a few stores Friday, but she doesn’t plan to spend a lot of money.

“It’s usually just to see what everybody has,” she said, “and (to see) if there’s something we can’t live without.”

Experts predict many stores will continue to cut prices throughout the Christmas season.

“You’re going to see deep discounts through the holiday season,” Shannon said. “It will just get deeper and deeper, and people will keep slashing prices. It’s bad for the retailers because it’s their profits they’re slicing. This might truly be a black Friday.”