Many KB stores plan midnight Black Friday opening

KB Toys, the Pittsfield-based chain of toy stores, said today that it will open 270 of its' 460 stores at midnight on Black Friday to give customers the opportunity to beat the traditional post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy.

"Shoppers will find the deepest discounts and bonus offers starting from midnight until noon on Black Friday," the chain said in a press release. (The image at right was taken from one of the chain's websites.)

Black Friday is a retailers' term for the day after Thanksgiving. In a bygone era, the day after Thanksgiving was regarded as the official start of the holiday shopping season. More recently, merchants have focused some of their big discounts and promotions on Black Friday in a bid to get the holiday shopping season off to a good start.

This year, with consumers fretting about the slumping US economy, many retailers seem to be going to even greater efforts to entice wary shoppers to open their wallets.

In many recent years, most KB stores opened at around 5 a.m. on the day after Thanksgiving; in 2007, the chain opened about 50 stores at midnight, and that initiative was so popular with shoppers that KB decided to expand it this year, a spokesman for the chain said.

Consumers can learn whether their local KB Toys store will open at midnight by visiting one of the chain's websites at www.kbclubhouse.com.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)