And even though Wal-Mart will stay closed on Thanksgiving - for now - the world's largest retailer will make its Black Friday specials available online so consumers can get a headstart on shopping tomorrow without having to stray far from the dinner table.
The chain also is offering a host of Thanksgiving Day specials, available only tomorrow via the Internet. In other words, start shopping on Thanksgiving Day or risk missing out on some fab deals.
The way I see it, this is all a bit much. It's as if retailers are intentionally trying to muck up Thanksgiving by enticing people to spend money.
I know that in business, it's all about the bottom line, particularly when it comes to the make-or-break holiday shopping season. But geesh. Won't they just leave Thanksgiving alone?
Isn't Black Friday - so named for the profits stores traditionally reap - soon enough to get people into the malls to do the ho-ho-ho thing?
"I think it's a shame that stores and some malls/outlets are starting to be open on Thanksgiving," said Doug Fleener, of Dynamic Experiences Group, a retail consulting firm based in Lexington, Mass. "What was wrong with the 6 a.m. start? Now it's midnight or even worse, Thanksgiving Day.
"It's only a matter of time until Thanksgiving will be a shopping day, not a family day. While I'm a retailer, I think this is the wrong direction."
Besides, what would it it say about us as a nation if Americans trade in football and feasting for a shot at a cut-rate HDTV?
"It says that shopping is, basically, a big part of people's lifestyle. Every holiday that's celebrated, we celebrate through a purchase or shopping," said Ravi Dhar, director of Yale University's Center for Customer Insights. "It's almost like an automatic, unconcious connection that people have between holidays and shopping."
