The day after Thanksgiving, commonly known as Black Friday, has long been the day that customers can hit retail stores to buy gifts and items for the holiday season. However, it seems as though this year, this popular shopping day is being moved up and is no longer starting on Friday for many retailers.

The Chicago Tribune reports that big-name retailer Wal-Mart has decided to open its stores nationwide on Thanksgiving night at 8 p.m., giving eager holiday consumers the chance to stock up on products even earlier. Department store chain Sears is also opening its doors at 8 p.m. on that Thursday night. These retailers will be offering special deals and discounts for early shoppers as well as in-store pickup for customers who purchased products online, the news source states.

Several other big-name stores are hoping to draw in more consumers by opening their doors earlier as well. Macy's is starting its Black Friday at midnight on Friday, November 23, while Gap Inc. announced its stores, like Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic will be open for customers beginning Thanksgiving night. Additionally, Target is getting in on the early Black Friday trend, as it plans to get things going at 9 p.m. that Thursday.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 at 10:27 am .