Thanksgiving is next week Thursday, and a growing number of retailers will start their Christmas sales on Thanksgiving night instead of the traditional day after Thanksgiving.
Waikele Premium Outlets is sure getting a jump on Black Friday this year.
Most of the stores are opening on Thanksgiving night, starting with Armani Exchange at 7pm.
And a handful of stores are even opening on Thanksgiving during the day, and staying open all the way until Friday night.
Mhel Sutterfield of Waipahu says she’ll be back Thanksgiving night.
"It’s really good. You can save a lot of money."
Even if it means leaving Thanksgiving dinner early.
Other retailers opening extra early include: Toys R Us, which will open for bargain hunters at 8 o’clock Thursday night — an hour earlier than last year.
Walmart’s first round of Black Friday sales also start at 8pm. Target’s doorbusters start at 9pm — three hours earlier than last year. Kmart plans to open from 6am-7pm Thanksgiving Day, then re-open Thanksgiving night at 10pm with Black Friday specials.
And, Sports Authority and Best Buy will open at midnight.
But not all stores plan to open in the wee hours of the night. Eden In Love, a women’s clothing boutique at Ward Warehouse, will open at 9am on Black Friday — just an hour earlier than usual.
But that doesn’t mean shoppers won’t show up in the wee hours of the night to line up.
"So last year, the first person showed up for our Black Friday at 1 o’clock in the morning, which is crazy," said Tanna Dang, Eden In Love Owner.
Eden In Love’s Black Friday sale has gotten bigger every year, with the biggest discounts in the morning.
"I would say for the entire day we have about 500-800 people that shop. It’s crazy for a small locally owned business, it’s phenomenal," said Dang.
In fact, Tanna rents two conference rooms upstairs at Ward Warehouse to accommodate all the merchandise they bring in.
"We have about 40 racks already stuffed with stuff for Black Friday, and we have 64 boxes that came in total for Black Friday. Black Friday is huge for us. It kind of kicks off the entire holiday season," said Dang.
The term Black Friday originated in Philadelphia in the 1960′s to describe the heavy traffic on the day after Thanksgiving, and is now used to describe the day when retailers turn a profit, or get in the black.
See the original article at: KHON2 Developing Stories
