Black Thursday: Shoppers start early nationwide

NEW YORK -- Gobble down the turkey and save the pumpkin pie for later.

As more than a dozen major retailers from Target to Toys R Us opened Thanksgiving Day, shoppers across the country got a jump-start on holiday shopping. The Thanksgiving openings come despite planned protests across the country from workers' groups that are against employees missing Thanksgiving meals at home.

More than 200 people stood in line at the Toys R Us store in Manhattan before its 5 p.m. opening.

Green Bryant was first in line at 10 a.m. The restaurant manager ended up buying a dollhouse for $129 -- $30 off -- a Barbie doll and a LeapFrog learning system. Bryant, 28, said she didn't miss Thanksgiving festivities but was going home to cook a Thanksgiving meal for her two children.

"It was worth it," she said. "Now I gotta go home and cook."

At a Target store in Brooklyn, N.Y., about 25 people were waiting in line at 2:50 p.m. for the 8 p.m. opening, an hour earlier than a year ago.

Theresa Alcantaro, 35, a crossing guard, was waiting with her 12-year-old son to buy an Xbox One. It wasn't on sale, but supplies have been scarce. She was missing a gathering of 40 family members but said she would meet up after shopping. She hoped to be in and out by 9 p.m.

"Honestly if I can get a good deal, I do not mind," she said about Thanksgiving Day shopping. "I see my family every day. They understand."

After shopping at Target and meeting up with her family, she planned to go back out again at midnight with family members but wasn't sure where yet.

The holiday openings are a break with tradition. The day after Thanksgiving, called Black Friday, for a decade had been considered the official start to the holiday buying season. It also typically is the biggest shopping day of the year.

But in the past few years, retailers have pushed opening times into Thanksgiving night. They also have pushed up discounting that used to be reserved for Black Friday into early November, which has led retail experts to question whether the Thanksgiving openings will steal some of Black Friday's thunder.

In fact, Thanksgiving openings took a bite out of Black Friday sales last year: Sales on Thanksgiving were $810 million last year, an increase of 55 percent from the previous year as more stores opened on the holiday, according to Chicago research firm ShopperTrak. But sales dropped 1.8 percent to $11.2 billion on Black Friday, although it still was the biggest shopping day last year.

"Black Friday is now Gray Friday," said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultancy. "It's been pulled all the way to the beginning of November."

Stores are trying to get shoppers to buy in an economy that's still challenging. While the job and housing markets are improving, that hasn't translated into sustained spending increases among most shoppers.

Overall, the National Retail Federation expects retail sales to be up 3.9 percent to $602.1 billion during the last two months of the year. That's higher than last year's 3.5 percent growth, but below the 6 percent pace seen before the recession.

Analysts expect sales to be generated at the expense of profits as retailers likely will have to do more discounting to get people into stores. More than two dozen stores including Wal-Mart and Kohl's, have lowered their profit outlooks for the year.

Shoppers' financial stress was apparent at the stores Thursday.

"I struggle a lot," said Adriana Tavaraz, 51, from the Bronx who had spent $100 buying holiday décor for her and her family on Thanksgiving at a Kmart in Manhattan's Midtown section. "Nowadays, you have to think about what you spend. You have to think about tomorrow."

Tavaraz, who works at a travel agency, started saving for holiday presents in June and planned to spend a total of $200 for holiday presents. She said her holiday budget was tight because she was grappling with higher costs such as food and monthly rent, which rose $100 to $1,700 this year.

The Thanksgiving openings are part of retailers' holiday strategy of trying to lure shoppers in early and often during the shopping season. But the stores face challenges in doing that.

Some workers have petitions on change.org to protest against Target and Best Buy. The Retail Action Project, a labor-backed group of retail workers, also plans to have members visiting customers at stores including Gap and Victoria's Secret in the Manhattan borough of New York City to educate them about the demands on workers.

Wal-Mart has been the biggest target for protests against holiday hours. Most of the company's stores are open 24 hours, but the retailer started its sales events at 6 p.m. Thursday, two hours earlier than last year.

The issue is part of a broader campaign against the company's treatment of workers that's waged by a union-backed group called OUR Walmart, which includes former and current workers. The group is staging demonstrations and walkouts at hundreds of stores around the country on Black Friday.

Brooke Buchanan, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said the discounter has received "really good feedback" from employees about working the holiday.

Wal-Mart said workers get additional holiday pay for working on Thanksgiving. Wal-Mart is also serving meals at the stores and is giving employees a 25 percent discount on a single purchase.

But Wal-Mart worker Cindy Murray, 57, shrugs off the perks and said she won't be able to sit down for a Thanksgiving meal with her family until after her nine-hour shift ends at 4 p.m. Murray says the company can't put a price on the holiday.

"If they want to do something for us, they will go back to the old tradition," said Murray, who lives in Hyettsville, Md.