BLACK THURSDAY

Shoppers Ditch Turkey for Deals

Major retailers open on Thanksgiving for first time.

They came, they waited, they bought. Holiday shopping started a day earlier this year, with major retailers opening on Thanksgiving Day for the first time. Despite protests from workers' rights advocates—and the reality that most deals are available online or not actually discounts from the intended price—shoppers lined up at stores like Kmart, Target, and Wal-Mart to secure Christmas gifts early. The 140 million early shoppers expected this weekend is a decline from the 147 million who came out last year, and many buyers have figured out the same door-buster sales can be found online. Thanksgiving online sales were up 10 percent from last year.