Shoppers got a head start on Thanksgiving Day

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Black Friday used to kick off the holiday shopping season, but now that day has taken a backseat to Thanksgiving Day. Still, retailers have settled into times that don’t interfere with the turkey feast.

After opening earlier and earlier on the holiday, this year, most of the more than a dozen major retailers such as Macy’s, Target and Kohl’s were sticking with their 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. Thanksgiving openings.

One big exception: J.C. Penney, which opened two hours earlier, at 3 p.m., on the holiday. Staples has reversed course and was closed on the holiday. And sporting goods chain REI, which was always closed on Thanksgiving, bowed out of Black Friday, too.

Still, stores weren’t waiting around to push discounts on holiday goods until the official weekend. Increasingly, they’ve been discounting holiday merchandise earlier in the month. In fact, according to the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, nearly 60 percent of holiday shoppers had already started holiday shopping as of Nov. 10.

That should take a bite out of the sales this weekend, though Black Friday should still rank either No. 1 or No. 2 in sales for the year.

The National Retail Federation estimates about 135.8 million people will shop this weekend, compared with 133.7 million last year. The trade group expected about 30 million to shop on Thanksgiving, compared with 99.7 million on Black Friday.

Overall, the group expects a 3.7 percent increase to $630.5 billion though the growth is much higher than the 10-year average of 2.5 percent.

But grabbing those dollars will be tough. Though the overall economy has been improving, shoppers remain tight-fisted. The unemployment rate has settled into a healthy 5 percent rate, but shoppers still grapple with stagnant wages that are not keeping pace with rising costs for things such as rent. Stores also are contending with an increasing shift to researching and buying online.

In response, Wal-Mart and Target were making all of the deals available online Thanksgiving morning that would be available later in the stores. New this year at Target: Shoppers who spend $75 or more today will receive a 20 percent discount to use toward a future purchase on any day between next Friday and Dec. 13.

Saks Fifth Avenue pulled up its Black Friday sale to Wednesday to get a jump start to the holiday shopping season. Gerald Storch, CEO of Hudson’s Bay Company, which also operates Lord & Taylor, said the deals at the stores are even more aggressive than last year and include a $75 gift card with a $150 in-store purchase.

Storch told The Associated Press that the luxury chain considered, and then rejected, opening on Thanksgiving, but still wanted to do something special for its customers.

“It’s a calm alternative to Black Friday,” said Storch, referring to the Wednesday store sale.