Macy's joins midnight blitz on Black Friday

For the first time, holiday shoppers at Macy’s will go from ladling the gravy to burning the midnight oil.

America’s largest department store chain is odiscount nfl jerseyspening at 12 a.m. on Black Friday. Target also is launching its first midnight sale and will stay open for 23 consecutive hours.

“This year, in response to our customers’ eagerness to shop early for great deals, Macy’s stores across the country will open for the first time at midnight following Thanksgiving, giving customers the opportunity to get a head start on our extraordinary Black Friday deals,” Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren said in a statement Monday.

Kmart blazed the pre-Black Friday trail several years ago, opening on Thanksgiving. In 2010, Sears, Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy followed suit.

In recent years, night owls have been compecheap nfl jerseys free shippingting with the early birds, with Toys R Us opening at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving and GameStop, Walmart and other retailers opening at midnight.

Last year, 9.5 percent of Black Friday shoppers went to midnight sales, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group. That is three times as many shoppers as the previous year.

Target said it is moving up its opening from 4 a.m. to midnight in response to customer requests.

Macy’s has experimented with extended holiday hours before recent Christmases, keeping its highest-volume stores, including the Cherry Hill Mall anchor, open 24 hours a day for the two weeks before the holiday.

Typically, retailers keep doorbusters secret until a few days before Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season.

In another shift from tradition, Macy’s whetted shoppers’ appetiCheap NFL Jerseystes for post-Turkey Day bargains Monday by announcing a half-price special on Sharper Image docking stations for Apple’s iPhone and iPod. Macy’s will also debut its exclusive Justin Bieber limited-edition fragrance set on Black Friday.http://forum.autonags.com/t10-macy-s-joins-midnight-blitz-on-black-friday