SV Black friday we roll differently

The 2013 Holiday Season in Silicon Valley: What to know as shopper and retailer    Between competition from Amazon.com and same-day delivery services from Google and eBay, there's no doubt: It's hard out there for a retailer. Going into Black Friday, store owners are wrestling with anxiety: How can we capitalize on new technologies? Will shoppers materialize? Will they abandon brick and mortar stores faster than expected? One potential leg up for Silicon Valley retailers is Big Data. Stores of all sizes, from small Bay Area chains like Sports Basement to national retailers are using in-store analytics from companies like SAP and RetailNext to wring more revenue out of the make-or-break holiday season. The data collection technologies that stores can use now range from the very cool to the very creepy. Surveillance cameras  record customer behavior, indicating which products they linger over. Wi-fi sensors, facial recognition technologies and so-called "smart shelves" with embedded cameras also help managers optimize sales. Silicon Valley retailers will need all the advantages they can get, given that most forecasters are saying this year will break records for online commerce.   Despite that, demand for brick-and-mortar retail space is actually increasing.   But it's far from business as usual in the Silicon Valley retail space, and some online retailers are going as far as opening physical locations to build brand loyalty. That and other market forces are changing the very notion of what a store looks like. Temporary pop-up retailers are springing up all over Silicon Valley. Global brands as big as Gucci as well as local entrepreneurs like The Rock Shop's David Nevin in San Jose are cashing in on this market trend. Shopping centers, those Black Friday mob scenes, are adding space and sprucing up in the face of online competition. Just like years past, the shopping season brings an economic boost locally as more companies hire to fill temporary positions just ahead of the holidays. Will consumers feel optimistic enough to take part in the annual buying frenzy that begins this week (if they haven't started already)?   Retailers, we'd love to hear about your Black Friday plans: Will you be starting early by opening on Thanksgiving? And shoppers, if you're blanking out on gift ideas, here are more than 50 Silicon Valley-inspired ideas that might get you out of a pinch.

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