Is Black Thursday a new trend?

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - While the lines continue to grow at retailers all around the area, you may notice a slight change in the Black Friday strategy.

Many retailers have shifted to opening stores as early as 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving to make some extra money.

We brought you response from consumers earlier this month who thought opening on Thanksgiving is unfair to employees.

Experts said opening early is a great way for these retailers to make more money, even if it is a small percentage.
    
This year's consumer spending is projected to be much better than last several years.

"Our 2012 responses are the strongest we've seen since 2007, just before the recession began," Chief Economist of Credit Union National Association Bill Hampel said. "Our holiday spending survey has shown four years of improvement in a row following the abysmal readings of 2008."

"Is it going to make a big difference in retail sales? The answer is probably not," Purdue Retail Expert Richard Feinberg said. "For people like Wal Mart, K-Mart or Sears, a 1-percent increase in sales can make a very big difference. That's a lot of money."

Experts said the projected increase is believed to be from a combination of this years shopping season being the longest possible in a calendar year, because of the early Thanksgiving, and more people surveyed also said their financial situation was better this year.