Business & Tech

Black Friday Shopping Starting at Midnight: Love It or Hate It?

Macy's, Kohl's, Target and Best Buy open their doors at midnight on Nov. 25.

It will be a little harder to tell where Thanksgiving ends and Black Friday begins this year as several big box stores open their doors at midnight Nov. 25 in preparation for the biggest shopping day of the year.

, , and will open earlier than ever before. Last year, stores opened at 4 a.m.

Kristy Welker, a spokesperson for Target, said they are changing their hours this year for customer convenience.

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"Every holiday at Target is different," Welker said. "We work hard to ensure the entire experience delivers on what our guests want and need. We have heard from our guests that they want Target to be their first stop for their Black Friday shopping. By opening at midnight, we are making it easier than ever for our guests to shop the great assortment we offer, when they want to shop."

While all Best Buy stores will open at midnight on Black Friday, Novi's stores will kick-off the holiday shopping season Thursday night with an outdoor screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. The movie will start around 9 p.m., with giveaways and refreshments preceding it at 8 p.m.

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Although some people are happier to stay up late for deals instead of rising before the sun, Novi Patch Facebook fans gave the midnight openings some negative reviews:

Michelle Smith wrote, "Now they're just getting silly. Silly and greedy. How about we just forget about Thanksgiving altogether and just spend the day at the mall?"

Ron Boron said the deals are not good enough to stay up late for.

He wrote, "I don't think the 1/2 dozen or so items listed on the first page of their circulars should be the biggest reason to shop at midnite on Thanksgiving. Given the economy more and better deals will be available the closer we get to Christmas."

And Lisa Barry said she feels bad for the employees who now have to work on Thanksgiving. "I am a semi-professional shopper and even I think it is too much. I feel bad for the employees who will have to leave their homes and families to go to work on the holiday. The deals can wait a few hours," she wrote.

Shoppers may also wait until the Monday after Thanksgiving, known as "Cyber Monday", when many retail stores run sales on their websites for online shoppers.

Novi Patch editor Rebecca Jaskot also contributed to this report.


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