Black Friday sales will start on Thanksgiving at South Mississippi stores
Many of the drug stores and dollar stores and a few of the discount stores will be open all day Thanksgiving, and once again the bargains at the national retailers will be on Thanksgiving evening rather than in the wee hours of Black Friday.
JC Penney at Edgewater Mall will be the first of the major department stores to open at 3 p.m. Thursday, and the first shoppers in the door will have a chance to win one
of Penney's 10 grand prizes of $10,000 cash in the national giveaway.
Most of the big box stores will open at 6 p.m. to let in shoppers, some of whom will wait overnight to be at the head of the line and have the best chance of scoring a "doorbuster" price.
Once again, electronics are the hottest buys in the stores -- a 50-inch HDTV for $269, a printer/copier/scanner for $20, an Android tablet for $50 and a drone with camera for $50 after rebate.
GPS devices that were such popular gifts a few Christmases back aren't even mentioned in the circulars. This year, headphones priced from less than $10 to more than $400 and wireless activity bands, which track the number of steps the wearer takes each day, are on Christmas gift lists.
"Frozen" and "Paw Patrol" toys are big for little kids and "Star Wars" merchandise is on sale for all ages. Snoopy ornaments and Charlie Brown toys commemorate the 50th anniversary of the television special "A Charlie Brown Christmas."
Women's dress and casual boots are among the most advertised items, along with small appliances in bright colors for those who want an orange coffee pot or a cherry-red slow cooker.
When the opening rush is over, shoppers can stay out all night and pick up more bargains. Gulfport Premium Outlets opens at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving and will stay open 28 hours straight, until 10 p.m. Friday.
"With only four weeks left until Christmas, our shoppers are excited to get the season started, and we're thrilled to welcome them here to do just that," said Rhonda Roberts, director of marketing and business development at the outlets. Hours at the outlets will be extended for the weekend and through the holiday season.
Those stores that didn't open Thanksgiving Day will launch Black Friday sales starting at 5 a.m.
More local stores than ever before are expected to take part in Small Business Saturday, a national promotion launched in 2010 designed to get people to do some of their Christmas shopping at their local shops.
This story was originally published November 21, 2015 at 9:06 PM with the headline "Black Friday sales will start on Thanksgiving at South Mississippi stores ."