‘Black Friday Creep’ creates shopping divide

Before you reach for a second helping of Thanksgiving dinner — perhaps even before you bite into your first piece of turkey — the annual shopping fete once known as Black Friday will already be under way.

This year, several retailers — including Wal-Mart, the world’s largest — are opening earlier than ever for Black Friday, the term used to describe the shopping holiday that has for decades helped retailers boost end-of-year profits.

“Black Friday Eve” — or “Gray Thursday,” as it is now called — has been an evolving trend for several years. And it has created a divide. Even as some shoppers protest store openings on Thanksgiving, retailers have reported doubledigit sales increases as a result of extended hours last year. And even though some retail workers and their supporters have launched online petitions asking employers to save Thanksgiving, others will eagerly accept timeand-a-half holiday pay in today’s tough economy.

“Retailers are reaping their own rewards,” said Ronald Goodstein, associate professor of marketing at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. “Retailers have trained shoppers to get a deal, and consumers, like lemmings, have followed suit. Now, the idea is we can get our sales started early and beat the competition. ... It is all about them selling more items and making more money.”

Shoppers and retail employees who object to the Thanksgiving Day intrusion have taken to social media in protest — posting complaints on Facebook, for example, or launching petitions on social change website Change.org.

A group of Wal-Mart workers backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers union plans pickets and protests in the days leading to Black Friday.

Target employee Casey St. Clair of Corona, Calif., created a petition on Change.org asking the retailer to stop the “Black Friday Creep” so she could have Thanksgiving Day to relax and visit family. St. Clair’s petition has more than 200,000 signatures, a number comparable to a similar petition last year.

Protesters have also made the same request of Best Buy and others.

Sears was among the first retailers to announce an early opening this year. Its stores will open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day compared to last year’s midnight opening.

Wal-Mart will also open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, two hours earlier than last year.

“Last year our busiest time was 10 p.m.,” said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Veronica Marshall. “What (customers) shared was that they would rather stay up late than get up early.”

Among the other retailers opening early is Kmart — from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Toys R Us will open an hour earlier this year at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, while department stores including Macy’s and Kohl’s will open at midnight Friday.

This week, Target announced it would open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving with deals including highdefinition television sets, cameras and e-readers.

Bass Pro Shops, which starts its holiday promotions on Wednesday, will be open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

Some retailers, however, are resisting the push to open earlier.

In a statement released Friday, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores said it won’t open on Thanksgiving, saying its employees should be with their families on the holiday.

“Despite the recent trend of retailers opening their doors earlier and earlier each year, Jo-Ann stores will not be open Thanksgiving Day,” said Travis Smith, chief executive officer and president, Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. “We respect our team members and believe this is a day they should spend with their families.”

Includes reporting from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.