Toys R Us opening at 8 p.m. Thanksgiving for early Black Friday
Toys R Us will open its doors to Black Friday shoppers at 8 p.m. Thanksgiving, an hour earlier than last year, joining the crowd of retailers launching door busters barely after turkey dinners are finished.
Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving -- has traditionally been the kickoff to the holiday shopping season, but opening times have been creeping earlier as retailers seek to get a jump on the competition.
Toys R Us will launch door-buster deals at the same time as rivals Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. Both are holding their earliest Black Friday sales ever and will also stagger other discounts throughout the weekend.
Peter Reiner, Toys R Us’s senior vice president of marketing, said one time-honored Thanksgiving traditional is checking out the toy merchant’s “must-have gifts and coveted door busters.”
“Our customers love the thrill of Black Friday shopping and equally enjoy getting an early start on their search for the best deals,” Reiner said in a statement.
The first 200 shoppers in line at each Toys R Us store Thanksgiving night will get a free goody bag.
Not everyone is pleased with the earlier Black Friday hours. Workers and shoppers have created more than 20 online petitions on Change.org asking retailers to delay opening so they can have more time with their families on Thanksgiving.
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