The new PlayStation 3 video game consoles aren’t just creating fun for gamers. They’ll also be a blast for retailers this Christmas shopping season.

“We’re already off to an awesome start,” said Justin Burns, store team leader for Lawrence’s SuperTarget. “Those games are going to be really big for us.”

Probably not big enough, though, to create record sales numbers. Burns and other Lawrence retailers said they’re expecting sales to be similar to last year, which was considered a solid but not spectacular year.

“I think it is going to be a good holiday season,” said Joe Flannery, president of Weaver’s department store. “It might not be quite as good as 2005, but we think it will be good.”

Flannery said the main factor causing him to temper his enthusiasm was that the slowdown in the housing market usually has the ability to significantly affect the local economy. On the positive side, however, Flannery said he believed consumers had started to get over the shock of gasoline prices that are above $2 per gallon.

On the national level, economists are predicting the average family will spend slightly more this Christmas than they did last year. A report for the National Retail Federation predicts the average consumer will spend $791.10 on holiday gifts. That’s up from $738.11 last year.

Several national retailers are getting an earlier start than ever on the holiday season by opening stores at midnight in selected markets. That’s not a trend sweeping Lawrence. Based on calls to most of the major retailers in town, Lawrence stores are mainly opening at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m.

Flannery said in some ways that the day after Thanksgiving was not quite as busy of a shopping day as has traditionally been. “In reality, Dec. 23 is truly the busiest shopping day of the year,” Flannery said. “Friday still kicks off the season. But people are busier. More people shop more at the last minute than they used to.”