OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The tradition of Black Friday has now begun a day early on what is now being called Gray Thursday. As one of the first stores to open its doors on Thanksgiving night, Overland Park’s Toys R Us, saw a heavy stream of people in a holiday hustle to catch the best deals.
“People asked the question, are people going to turn out and shop on Thanksgiving night? But I think the time was really good for a lot of people,” Troy Rice, retail executive with Toys R Us, said. “They were able to have dinner and then come out and shop.”
Rice said the early opening is based on consumer demand to keep registers ringing.
And the demand is there.
Inside Oak Park Mall an hour before the 8 p.m. select store openings, lines formed in front of stores where people felt they were going to get the biggest bang for their buck. And at Walmart, the parking lot was full nearly the entire day.
Some shoppers said shopping is the perfect way to spend time with family while burning off those Thanksgiving calories.
