Shopping this Black Friday weekend? Here’s when the stores open and other info

The onslaught of holiday shopping is here.

Thanksgiving Day openings, Black Friday crowds, that fear of missing out on good deals or just the spectacle of human behavior — it’s all happening this week.

No matter how you feel about the kickoff to the holiday shopping season, it’s here. Like last year, much of the excitement has leaked out of Black Friday as shoppers turn to the internet for shopping. Store openings on Thanksgiving and Black Friday have mostly stopped their creep into family meal time. Now, openings are so spread out that the crowds are smaller.

It’s definitely still a big shopping week though.

Friday will be the busiest, with 71 percent of people to shop during the holiday weekend — 116 million — planning to shop that day, according to the National Retail Federation.

On Thanksgiving Day, shoppers will line up for stores that open that afternoon or evening, like JCPenney at 2 p.m. and Best Buy at 5 p.m. The shoe department inside JCPenney and the line outside the Victoria’s Secret at Fashion Fair will probably be the busiest hot spots.

Although those places get lots of attention, just 21 percent of people planning to shop during the holiday weekend will do so on Thursday.

Again this year, The Bee has put together a list of stores staying closed on Thanksgiving.

Other shopping “holidays” include Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday’s rush of online shopping and Giving Tuesday, where people are encouraged to give to charities.

It will be a good year for retailers. Shoppers are expected to spend an average $1,007.24 during the holiday season. That’s up more than four percent compared to last year.

Despite tariffs on Chinese goods taking effect last month, retailers have imported record levels of merchandise beforehand, meaning the tariffs won’t have much affect on prices, according to NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay.

Stores and malls in the Fresno area have opening times that are spread out over Thursday and Friday. Some will open Thursday, close for the wee morning hours and then reopen with more deals on Friday.

We’ve compiled a list of opening times below and ads in Thursday’s Fresno Bee will include all the deals.

Also, remember that some retailers are no longer around. Orchard Supply Hardware has closed all its stores; same with Toys R Us and Babies R Us. The West Shaw Avenue Big Lots is in the process of moving into the former Toys R Us on Shaw, and the Clovis Big Lots recently moved into the former Rite Aid at 1155 Shaw Ave.

The Clovis Kmart will open at 10 a.m. Thursday, but it’s in the process of closing and is nearly empty, an employee said.

Opening times

▪ Ann Taylor LOFT: 8 a.m. Friday

▪ Barnes & Noble 8 a.m. Friday

▪ Bath & Body Works: 6 p.m. to midnight Thursday, reopen at 6 a.m. Friday

▪ Best Buy: 5 p.m. Thursday to 1 a.m., reopen Friday at 8 a.m.

▪ Big Lots: 7 a.m. to midnight Thursday, reopen at 6 a.m. Friday

▪ Chico’s: 7 a.m. Friday

▪ Dick’s Sporting Goods: 6 p.m. Thursday to 2 a.m., reopen 5 a.m. Friday

▪ Dressbarn: 6 a.m. Friday

▪ Forever 21: 10 a.m. Thursday

▪ GameStop: 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, reopen 7 a.m. Friday

▪ Fashion Fair: 6 p.m. to midnight Thursday, reopening at 6 a.m. Friday

▪ Fig Garden Village 8 a.m. Friday

▪ H&M: midnight Thursday

▪ Hanford Mall: varies by store

▪ HomeGoods: 7 a.m. Friday

▪ JCPenney: 2 p.m. Thursday

▪ Jo-Ann Stores: 6 a.m. Friday

▪ Justice: 6 p.m. Thursday

▪ Kmart: The Visalia and Lemoore locations open at 8 a.m. Thursday

▪ Kohl’s: 5 p.m. Thursday

▪ Old Navy: River Park and Marketplace at El Paseo open at 3 p.m. Thursday, Clovis at 1 p.m. Thursday, Visalia at 6 p.m. Thursday

▪ Macy’s: 5 p.m. Thursday to 2 a.m., reopen 6 a.m. Friday

▪ Manchester Center: 10 a.m. Friday

▪ Mantra: 8:30 a.m. Friday

▪ Marshalls: 7 a.m. Friday

▪ Michaels: 6 p.m. to midnight Thursday, reopen 7 a.m. Friday

▪ REI: Closed Thursday and Friday, reopen at 10 a.m. Saturday

▪ River Park: varies by store

▪ Ross: 6 p.m. to midnight Thursday

▪ Sears: 6 p.m. Thursday

▪ Sierra Vista Mall: 6 a.m. Friday

▪ Sportsman’s Warehouse: 6 a.m. Friday

▪ Sur La Table: 6 a.m. Friday

▪ Target: 5 p.m. Thursday to 1 a.m., reopen Friday at 7 a.m.

▪ Tulare Outlets: 10 p.m. Thursday

▪ T.J.Maxx: 7 a.m. Friday

▪ Victoria’s Secret 6 p.m. Thursday

▪ Village Shoes: 5 a.m. Friday

▪ Visalia Mall: 6 p.m. to midnight Thursday, reopen at 6 a.m. Friday

▪ Walmart: Stores open early, deals start at 6 p.m. Thursday

▪ Wavelengths: 8 a.m. Friday

▪ White House | Black Market: 8 a.m. Friday