Retailers are hoping that their Thanksgiving hours will draw shoppers who prefer to head to stores after their turkey dinner rather than braving crowds Friday morning.
Last year Macy's opened at midnight, Thursday night at 8:00 and yes, there were people there. Whether it's right or wrong to shop on Thanksgiving is clearly subjective, but many shoppers told us this something they're doing with their family.
Thursday night at Macy's, they came for more than the holiday windows.
For the first time ever shoppers lined up on Thanksgiving night.
At exactly eight o'clock shoppers streamed into the flagship State Street store, the greeting from Macy's employees enough to combat a day of eating.
"We just took a nap, and, like, we're on our way out here shopping," said Kaming Tan.
Around the same time the doors at this North Side Target also opened. Shoppers, for the most part, filing in smoothly.
"My wife wanted me to do it so it was the right thing to do," said Rene Martinez.
For many, it was a day spent waiting.
The line at Toys R Us started forming around noon.
"We're doing this first, and then (Friday) we're having Thanksgiving," said Angel Lopez.
Retailers are hoping for a running start with a later Thanksgiving this year, signaling a later start to the season.
"Holiday is six days shorter, so we have a lot of things to sell. But we feel that we are stocked with all the right stuff that it will fly," said Macy's spokesperson Andrea Schwartz.
It should be mentioned that there are several stores making it a point not to be open, including Costco, Home Depot, and Nordstrom. Macy's will be open all the way through 10:00 Friday night, 26-hours straight to start the holiday shopping season.
