Black Friday shopping 2015

As predicted, Black Friday appears to have firmly moved itself into Thanksgiving with retailers opening doors just as families may be cleaning up the kitchen after the traditional feast.

Gone forever may be the days of living-room lounging in front of the televised football games and pouring over the store advertisements planning out shopping strategy for that old-fashioned Black Friday. On the other hand, Black Friday shopping is now spread out over a couple days providing more opportunities for people to purchase at hours that fit their schedule.

Here are some of the store hours for Black Friday in the lakes area.

J.C. Penney Inc. will open its doors at 3 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. Highlighted deals include $4.99 bath towels and a $14.99 "Star Wars" body pillow. J.C. Penney notes all-day online on Thanksgiving.

Kohl's will open at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. But online deals at Kohl's begin Monday with additional doorbusters each day leading up to Thanksgiving, including movie tickets to "Star Wars" and additional deals on Friday itself, including cameras, games, headphones and $49.99 Fitbit bracelets.

Herberger's is another offering doorbuster deals now through Black Friday and will open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving and stay open for 36 hours straight.

Gander Mountain may open the earliest with the doors open at 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving to midnight. Gander Mountain also opens from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Black Friday.

Target's Black Friday begins. Target is announcing 10 days of deals starting Nov. 22. Black Friday deals include a $169 43-inch TV, a $249 55-inch TV and $96.99 Beats headphones among others. The store will open its doors at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

Wal-Mart's Black Friday starts at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and all day online. Top special buys listed include a $269 50-inch TV and a $149 40-inch TV or a $898 70-inch TV. Wal-Mart has a store map listed online so shoppers can locate where items are sold in the store to find their purchases more quickly. With the special deals, items are set up in a variety of locations throughout the store where they don't normally appear.

Other stores are keeping the Black Friday tradition alive.

Costco's Thanksgiving weekend savings begin at 9 a.m. on Black Friday. Sale items include $40 off at KitchenAid 4.5 quart mixer, and $50 off a Xbox One console or Sony PlayStation4.

Mills Fleet Farm is closed on Thanksgiving and will open at 6 a.m. on Black Friday

Menards is opening its doors at its traditional hour of 6 a.m. on Black Friday. It is offering a six-hour sales ending at noon and additional doorbusters for two days after Thanksgiving.

On its sales flyer, Menards addresses its guests by saying, "as a family owned company, Menards believes Thanksgiving is a time for togetherness, which should be celebrated by those we hold dear. With this in mind, we decided to remain closed again on Thanksgiving Day so you, as well as our team members, can celebrate this joyous time with family and friends."

It appears to be a sentiment shared with others also closed on Thanksgiving such as Ace Hardware and Home Depot, both of which are starting doorbusters and sales before Nov. 26.

Ace Hardware is beginning its sales Wednesday and continuing through Sunday after Thanksgiving. Ace Hardware in Brainerd is closed Thanksgiving Day but opens at 7 a.m. on Black Friday for holiday shoppers.

At Home Depot, the store announced the Black Friday prices have already started with up to 40 percent off major appliances. The Baxter Home Depot is also closed on Thanksgiving and opens at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.

Consumer trends

The National Retail Federation's preliminary Thanksgiving weekend survey found an estimated 135.8 million shoppers. or nearly 59 percent, are expected to shop sometime during the holiday weekend, beginning on Thanksgiving. The federation noted 61.1 percent planned to shop during the holiday in 2014 and 55 percent of shoppers reported they did shop either in stores or online during the Thanksgiving weekend last year. Just 18.7 percent of shopper reported they will begin their holiday shopping in December.

For those already ahead on holiday shopping, it's a substantial group. The federation reported 57 percent of holiday shoppers had already started shopping in early November, an increase from 54.4 percent a year ago.

Tidbits from the federation's findings:

• Average spending per person is expected to be $805.65, largely unchanged from last year.

• Spending gifts for family members is expected to total $462.95, an increase from $458.75 last year and a survey high, the federation reported.

• Almost half of holiday shopping is expected to take place online this year, an increase from 44 percent last year. And nearly 47 percent of shoppers reported free shipping or promotions on shipping play an important part of their shopping decision.

• Self-gifting. In case Santa Claus isn't as generous, 55.8 percent of holiday shoppers are expected to add a gift for themselves, spending $131.59, an increase of $126.37 from 2014.

• About 21 percent of smartphone owners will use their phones for holiday purchases, which the federation reported is the highest number since it first asked the question in 2011.

• Shoppers will spend about $78 on gifts for friends, $28 on co-workers and $28 on others like pets and babysitters, $54 on decorations, $29 on greeting cards and postage and $108 on food.

"Despite the challenges that still exist in our economy, it looks as if consumers are eager to celebrate the holidays with friends and family this year," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay, in a news release. "We expect consumers will tackle their holiday shopping lists with a healthy dose of optimism, tempered by a hint of caution as they look for ways to find the perfect, practical gift."

"We continue to see positive momentum in retail sales growth, giving us reason to believe consumers will show up this holiday season as they look to take advantage of all of retailers' promotional offerings," continued Shay. "In an effort to attract all shoppers-from the extremely price sensitive to the online millennial, retailers will be offering exclusive incentives, low prices, price-matching, top toys and everyone's favorite-free shipping and buy online pickup in store offers."

About 59 percent of those surveyed said they wanted to receive a gift card, topping the list of requested gifts followed by clothing or clothing accessories, books, CDs/DVDs/video games.

The survey polled 7,276 consumers.

Small Business Saturday

On the heels of Black Friday is Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28, which American Express launched in 2010, to encourage people to support small, local businesses.

In 2011, the idea of promoting small businesses gained steam with support from states across the nation and Washington, D.C. Communities joined in as champions for the day and its premise to support neighbors and business owners, as well as the jobs the provide and the community support they offer-from sponsoring youth sports to numerous area events and causes. And in 2014, an estimated $14.3 billion was spent at small, independent businesses on Small Business Saturday. The effort is aimed at keeping Main Street and small businesses going by remembering those businesses amid shopping at large retailers or online. Even spending $50 at a local business can make a difference.

That is also the message with the Lakes Proud campaign to remind people to shop and buy and support local businesses, which are owned and operated and employ neighbors, fellow community members.

RENEE RICHARDSON, associate editor, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com . Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Dispatchbizbuzz .

Renee Richardson/Brainerd Dispatch.