Black Friday starts earlier than ever

Some stores offer deals Thanksgiving day

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Some people have been camping out for Black Friday deals for almost a week. For a lot of people, shopping on Black Friday is as traditional as having a Thanksgiving turkey.

But this year, a lot has changed, Thanksgiving and Christmas are meshing more than ever as many stores start their Black Friday deals earlier than ever.

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At the St. Johns Town Center, store doors will open at midnight and at Wal-Mart, you can get your first deals at 6 p.m. Thursday.

"This year we're opening at midnight so the center will be open from midnight to 10 p.m. and we're just very excited to be bringing in the holiday season this year at St. Johns," said Lindsey Vonhoven, Director of Marketing and Business Development at St. Johns Town Center.

A lot of places are opening early and a little preparation can save you time and money if you want to make it a quick trip Thanksgiving night.

"If you know what you're looking for, always go online first because every store is going to broadcast online what sales they're going to have on black friday and cyber Monday," said Jessica Huffman with Your Lifestyle Concierge.

Wal-Mart's flier is online, you can browse every item it'll have on sale from home before you go. It's organized its deals into three events. The first one at 6 p.m. the next at 8 p.m. and then Friday morning at 8.

"If you think about it, it's our superbowl of retail so if we start it later, then it's kind of like starting the sale at half time," said Kenny Weeks, store manager at a Jacksonville Wal-Mart.

Most stores at the St. Augustine Outlets will open up at 8 p.m. Thursday, Target stores open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving and Target.com sales begin at 12:01 a.m. on Black Friday and h.h.gregg also opens at 8 p.m. Thursday.

We got a little preview of exactly how things will be working at Wal-Mart this year and the most popular item is expected to be a 32 inch Emerson TV, on sale for $98.