‘Black Thursday’ Shopping: The Uninvited Guest at Thanksgiving?

It's hard to believe we're less than a month away from Thanksgiving. Over the last few years, retailers have opened their stores earlier and earlier on Black Friday in order to cash in on the holiday shopping frenzy. So much so that Black Friday doorbuster sales have crept — uninvited — into our Thanksgiving dinners. Big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart and Toys"R"Us have gone on record as to how opening on Thanksgiving has increased their sales drastically. But honestly, how in the world did 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving turn into the new midnight for Black Friday sales?

Brad's Black Friday website, which offers a countdown to the retail savings festivities, shared a timeline of how doorbuster sales have dramatically changed over the years. Wal-Mart and Toys"R"Us lead the pack, followed by Best Buy. Staples, Kohl's and Macy's round out the group of overbearing retailers with store opening creeping into our Thanksgiving dinners.

I'm all for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, a time-honored holiday tradition, but I'm not quite ready to skip dinner to go marathon shopping. Nonetheless, I may not be considering all of the facts.

Holly Thomas, a spokesperson for Macy's, said in this MSN article that 15,000 people waited in line at the company's Herald Square store in New York City to shop on Thanksgiving last year, breaking all previous Black Friday sales records for the retailer. It was the first time Macy's opened its doors on the holiday. In addition, Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl's saw an increase in sales for the 2013 holiday season, in part aided by opening on Thanksgiving. So while I may find the idea of shopping on Turkey Day unappetizing, the fact of the matter is more and more consumers partake and look forward to shopping on the holiday.

According to a recent survey by coupon site RetailMeNot, over 22 percent of consumers believe retailers’ Thanksgiving hours provide a fun activity for the family on the holiday. In addition, one in three consumers feel that retailers being open on Thanksgiving gives those who have to work on Black Friday the opportunity to still get great deals.

In addition, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers have to find a way keep up with 24/7 e-commerce giants, like Amazon, this holiday season. Most retailers argue that it seems a little unfair to compare previous years to the present day due to the advancements in mobile and tablet shopping. It's hard to keep up.

"Brick-and-mortar retailers are more and more having to compete in that marketplace," John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, told CBS. "In some ways we have little choice. We'll see more and more creep of Black Friday into Thanksgiving."

Still, there are retailers choosing not to succumb to the sales frenzy. Costco has officially announced it will be closed on Thanksgiving. The warehouse club operator will be joined by the likes of REI, Crate and Barrel, Dillard's, Nordstrom, GameStop and others.

"As is our tradition, our Nordstrom stores will be closed on Thanksgiving," said a Nordstrom spokesperson to ThinkProgress. "We believe in celebrating one holiday at a time. Over the years, our tradition has been to be closed on Thanksgiving and to unveil our holiday trim the following morning."

Retailers that are choosing to stay closed on Thanksgiving are starting to gain support from the public. Boycott Black Thursday, a Facebook page demonstrating the public's distaste for retailers being open on the holiday, has already earned over 50,000 likes and is starting a petition for consumers to boycott retailers which are open Thanksgiving night. However, only time will tell if their efforts will matter to the countless consumers planning to shop on the holiday.

Review the list below to see which retailers have announced their holiday hours:

Open Thanksgiving