SALT LAKE CITY - Black Friday is turning into Black Thursday as many national stores plan to open their doors on Thanksgiving night.
Some shoppers are looking forward to the earlier start of shopping while others think it's too soon.
The National Retail Federation says that shopping on Thanksgiving is a growing trend. In 2009, 3 percent of shoppers ventured out on Thursday night. In 2010, that number increased to 9 percent. In 2011, a whopping 24 percent were out ready to shop on Thanksgiving.
"Retailers are trying to anticipate and meet the expectations of their customers. So three years ago we saw a number of retailers test drive Thursday openings," said Matthew Shay, CEO of the National Retail Federation.
Nationwide, some Walmart employees have threatened to strike for making them work through the holiday and more than 360,000 people have signed an online petition at change.org asking Target to "take the high road and save Thanksgiving."
"I think it's unfortunate for the employees. I wish they could stay home with their families," said Melissa Smith.
Target, Kmart, Sears, Toys-R-Us and Walmart will be among the retailers opening their doors on Thanksgiving night.
