Rather than just breaking bread on Thanksgiving, Hawaii retailers are hoping consumers will take some time to break the bank instead.
The state’s major retailers, feeling pressure to outdo each other, are opening earlier than ever this year.
Macy’s, Sears and Target are all opening at 6 p.m. Thursday, two hours earlier than last year, while Best Buy will unlock its doors one hour earlier at 5 p.m., the same time as Toys R Us, which typically has lines around the block by then.
Kmart’s 6 a.m. Thanksgiving Day opening puts it among the earliest of the crowd of retailers desperate to capture their piece of the consumer-spending pie.
"Each year it gets earlier and earlier because they’re sort of pushing the envelope. It’s like if they’re going to open at 4, we’re going to open at 3," said Fred Paine, general manager of Pearlridge Center, which for the first time will open at midnight Thursday, up from 6 a.m. Friday last year. "Unfortunately, Thanksgiving sort of gets squeezed out."
Even smaller retailers are jumping on the early-opening bandwagon, with places like Claire’s and Hot Topic at Pearlridge trying to capitalize on the 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day opening of the anchor tenants.
Ala Moana Center, the state’s largest shopping center, will officially open at midnight Thursday so shoppers can make purchases early Friday, dubbed by some "ThanksGetting Day." That was not early enough for nearly 30 of Ala Moana Center’s stores, which are opting to open earlier Thursday.
"It is retail-world Super Bowl. This is our Super Bowl," said Debbie Shima, store manager of the Walmart on Keeaumoku Street. "Competition is fierce."
Customers are driving the trend, she added.
"The feedback that I’ve gotten from customers is that’s a part of their Thanksgiving now. They have their Thanksgiving lunch, they all get together … map it all out and come shopping."
The Thanksgiving openings are welcome news for Kaimuki resident Natalie Chung, who has shopped on Black Friday for more than 10 years.
OPENING HOURS
(with change from last year)
THANKSGIVING DAY:
| Toys R Us |
5 p.m. |
| Macy’s |
6 p.m. (2 hours sooner) |
| Sears |
6 p.m. (2 hours sooner) |
| Waikele Premium Outlets |
9 a.m. |
| Walmart |
open 24 hours |
| Best Buy |
5 p.m. (1 hour sooner) |
| Target |
6 p.m. (2 hours sooner) |
| Kmart |
6 a.m. |
BLACK FRIDAY:
| Ala Moana Center |
midnight Thursday |
| Pearlridge Center |
midnight Thursday |
| Windward Mall |
6 a.m. |
| Kahala Mall |
7 a.m. |
| Ward Centers |
9 a.m. |
|
"It makes it a little more convenient where you don’t have to wake up so early in the morning to stand in line, ’cause you’re already up," she said. "We’re kind of done shopping by noon on Friday. Then it’s time to go to bed."
Pre-Black Friday deals also crept up earlier this year as retailers fight for the most holiday dollars, which can account for as much as 40 percent of annual sales. Best Buy is advertising "Black Friday prices now" online with free shipping.
The deals are enticing.
Walmart is offering two "doorbuster" events starting at 6 p.m. Thursday and another at 6 a.m. Friday. The deals include a 65-inch flat-screen television for $648, $350 off the regular price, and an RCA tablet computer for just $29. However, the company’s deal that guarantees select items during a one-hour period is not valid in Hawaii.
The National Retail Federation is projecting an estimated 140 million Americans will shop in stores or online this weekend. The group is forecasting a 4.1 percent increase in retail sales in the last two months of the year, the largest increase since 2011.
Pearlridge’s decision to open six hours earlier this year was based on the significant sales for the larger tenants that opened during the early-morning hours last year, said Paine, the general manager.
"Year after year for the past two or three years, the word’s gotten out that, hey, it’s worth opening earlier," he said. "I’ve been through this a lot, but it just never ceases to amaze me how people are really driven to shop."
