Associated Press quotes Prof. Roger Beahm, who expects most stores open on Thankskgiving within five years

Black Friday? This year, many retailers are starting the Christmas shopping even earlier — on Thanksgiving. Target and Toys R Us pushed into Thanksgiving a few years ago, but now, according to the Associated Press, more than a dozen major retailers are joining the shopping frenzy. Macy’s, J.C. Penney and Staples are first-time participants this year, while The Gap (owners of Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic) plans to open half its stores on Thanksgiving morning.

“The floodgates have opened,” Roger Beahm says. “People will turn Thanksgiving Day shopping into a tradition as they historically have on the day after Thanksgiving … And stores don’t want to be left behind.”

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