Extended Holiday Shopping Season Kicking Off A Little Early This Year
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the holiday shopping season is not far behind.
This year, some retailers are getting a jump on the shopping crush, beginning Black Friday deals a day early.
Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us are starting the Black Friday deals on Thanksgiving night for those eager to start the holiday shopping a day early.
Sears has already started its Black Friday sales, CBS 2's Cindy Hsu reported.
Some shoppers oppose the early start to the shopping deals.
"Just too much," one shopper told Hsu.
"My kids are out there from one o'clock in the morning standing in line," another woman said.
Those who work in retail are also dreading the extra pre-Black Friday rush.
"People are working long hours, on their feet for long hours of the day dealing with difficult people," retail employee Sandra Park told Hsu.
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and got the nickname because that is typically when retailers get out of the red and into profit territory for the year.
Shoppers who dread the big crowds said they will partake in Cyber Monday, a day of online deals the Monday after Thanksgiving.
"I'm not going to venture out myself because it's just too crazy," shopper Brian Brenberg told Hsu. "I'm going to do it online because they'll send it to us and most places offer free shipping anyway so why not?"
Experts said if you do brave the stores in the search for deals, make a list and be smart about your purchases.
"Something that's actually not necessarily a good thing on Black Friday are toys of all things. Typically the best time to buy toys are the first two weeks of December. Prices start to get slashed because there's so much inventory," said Dan de Grandpre with dealnews.com.
This is a longer than usual holiday season, with 32 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Will you partake in Black Friday shopping, or do you dread the crowds? Sound off below...
