Doreen Perpignan

Doreen Perpignan has been waiting outside the Best Buy in Bethlehem Township, Pa., since 1 p.m. Monday.

(Express-Times Photo | KURT BRESSWEIN)

Camping out for Black Friday deals is a tradition for Doreen Perpignan, but the Bethlehem resident is stepping up her game this year to take advantage of Thanksgiving Day sales.

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Perpignan has been braving the elements since about 1 p.m. Monday outside Best Buy in the Southmont Shopping Center to try to secure a 55-inch, high-definition TV, originally priced at $1,000, for $500.

Her 22-year-old son, who's getting the TV for Christmas, is her motivation for spending more than 72 hours in line, Perpignan said. The doors open 6 p.m. Thanksgiving, with entry tickets given out up to two hours earlier, the store says.

She's a fan of stores opening Thanksgiving night, offering deals before Black Friday.

"It's excellent that they have sales, especially on electronics, because they're expensive and times are hard," Perpignan said Tuesday night as she took shelter from the rain inside the Bethlehem Township, Pa., store. "A lot of stores are going out of their way to cater to their customers."

Stores in the Lehigh Valley, Palmer Park, Phillipsburg and Whitehall malls and Outlets at Sands Bethlehem are among area shopping centers also opening on Thanksgiving this year. The mall managers say they're appeasing customers' requests for more hours to shop. The large department stores in the Lehigh Valley Mall and 21 stores in the Palmer Park Mall will open Thanksgiving night.

General Manager Brian Molchany said the stores are capitalizing on one of the busiest seasons of the year by opening earlier, which a lot of shoppers wanted. Seven establishments have opened or changed ownership in the weeks leading up to the holiday shopping season, he said.

The mall's management encourages stores to open by midnight to accommodate traffic, although it's up to each individual store's corporate offices to decide when to open their doors, Molchany said.

Alison Miers, vice president of Easton and Phillipsburg initiatives for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, said it's the obvious -- even more revenue generation -- that's leading major retailers to open earlier than ever. But the shorter time, and shopping season, between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year may also factor into the decision to open early, she said.

Amanda Johnson, director of marketing and business development at

wrote in an email that mall management determines store hours at the onset of every holiday season by looking at customer demand.

"Over the past few years, we've seen an increase in the demand for earlier openings. Offering extended holiday hours meets our customers' needs by giving them the flexibility to enjoy all the mall has to offer whenever convenient for them," Johnson wrote.

At the

on Tuesday, Kelsey Sandor said she has no intention of shopping on Thanksgiving, and she doesn't go to extremes on Black Friday, either. The Phillipsburg resident said she doesn't see the need for stores and malls to start their sales on Thanksgiving.

"The holidays are supposed to be about family, not trampling people for deals," Sandor said. "I don't think anybody would want to have to come to work after having to cook all day."

Sashi McDowell, also at the Phillipsburg Mall, said she thinks it's horrible that some stores are opening on the holiday.

"Not everything needs to be about shopping and money," said McDowell, of Easton. "It's really unfair to ask an employee to come in on a holiday like that. So many people need to work these days, we get to spend less and less time with our families."