Millions in US Expected to Shop on Thanksgiving

New York: Millions of Americans are expected to head to the stores for gift shopping on the Thanksgiving holiday Thursday in what's quickly becoming a new tradition on a day once dedicated solely to family and feasting.

Just a few years ago when a few stores started opened late on the holiday, the move was met with resistance from workers and shoppers who believed the day should be sacred.

Thanksgiving - in bygone times a holiday meant to give thanks for the harvest - is celebrated with late-afternoon roast turkey meals.

But last year, more than dozen major retailers opened at some point on Thanksgiving evening. And this year, at least half of them - including Target, Macy's, Staples and JC Penney - are opening earlier in the evening on the holiday.

The Thanksgiving openings are one way retailers are trying to compete for Americans' holiday dollars. Used to be that the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, was when they'd focus their sales promotions. But increasingly, they've been pushing those promotions earlier on Friday, and eventually into the holiday itself, to grab deal-hungry shoppers' attention.

Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak, which tracks data at 70,000 stores globally, is expecting a sales increase of 3 percent to 5 percent to $3.25 billion to $3.75 billion on Thanksgiving. Last year's figure grew two-fold from the year before.

The National Retail Federation expects 25.6 million shoppers to take advantage of the Thanksgiving openings, down slightly down from last year.

Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman at the retail trade group, said that earlier promotions in the month and shoppers' uncertainty about when they can get the best deals are factors that could lead to fewer shoppers coming out on the holiday.

Not every store is opening on Thanksgiving, though. Some, including GameStop, Costco and Ikea, have said they won't open because they want their workers to enjoy the holiday with their families.