EDWARDSVILLE -- Will standing in long lines on Black Friday become a thing of the past?
One major retail store wants to stand apart from the other major stores and get a big head start on the holiday rush.
This week Kmart announced it will be opening at 6 a.m. Thanksgiving, and it will stay open for 41 hours straight.
"I don't think anybody needs to be up that early just to go shopping in my opinion. The economy is hurting so bad as it is now," Clinton Brace of Hunlock Creek said.
"I think it's good especially for Thanksgiving, because the guys are all watching football and the girls that don't watch football can come shopping after they're done cooking dinner," Esther Morgan of Dallas said.
The major retailer is just one of many opening Thanksgiving Day. Kmart employee Elise Jardine said she's not upset with the company's decision to open Thanksgiving morning.
"No. I mean, I get paid. So...," Elise Jardine of Kingston said.
Some shoppers Newswatch 16 talked to said they're happy that they get a little more time to do some holiday shopping on Thanksgiving.
Other shoppers said they are not happy that some stores are starting to take over Thanksgiving Day.
"That's just crazy. People have Thanksgiving dinner late in the afternoon and now they can't because people have to go to work and go shopping. It's like that became more important than being with your family and having dinner," Lee Galazin of Hunlock Creek said.
Dr. John Mellon, associate professor of Business and Marketing at Misericordia University believes retail stores opening earlier are a sign of the times. He believes fewer people have traditional Thanksgiving dinners at home.
"They're going to restaurants therefore they're not in a home and going shopping that at 6 p.m. Yes it will be a trend because of the wants of the consumer," Mellon said.
The National Retail Federation estimates that shoppers will spend a little more than $700 this holiday season.