They didn’t exactly bust down doors Thursday morning.
There was plenty of room to stroll the aisles at Manhattan stores like Kmart and Toys “R” Us, major retailers who wanted to get a super-early jump on Black Friday.
Kmart’s “Triple Doorbuster” 6 a.m. sale, with bargains like half-price holiday decorations and buy-one-pair-get-one-pair-free shoes, didn’t draw much of a crowd.
By mid-morning, employees were outnumbering turkey-day shoppers at in Manhattan and around the region.
“At least it’s easy to get around,” Nicole Powers, 46, of East Harlem, said as she browsed the vacant aisles of the K-mart on 34th Street in Midtown.
Powers grabbed a $4.99 Proctor Silex clothes iron — marked down from $11.49 — and went on her way.
“It’s early enough that I can still be home to eat with my family,” said said. “And it’s less shopping I have to do tomorrow.”
Employees also outnumbered shoppers in the giant Kmart store in East Brunswick, NJ, the website nj.com reported. The Washington-based retail chain has had Thanksgiving hours for 20 years.
Over at Toys “R” Us at 44th Street and Broadway, less than two dozen shoppers lined up for that store’s 10 a.m. opening.
Washington Heights resident Daniel Sandoval, 33, waited two hours in the cold,expecting a huge line. Even though his early arrival proved unnecessary, Sandoval said he was thankful for the sparse crowd.
“As soon as it opens, go in, get what I want and straight home,” said Sandoval, who grabbed a Lego set for his niece.
“I’m not even staying for the [Macy’s Thanksgiving Day] parade. I don’t want to be around the rush tomorrow. It is going to be crazy and I might not get what I want.”
Retailers are feeling the pressure to cash in big on Black Friday, pushing them to roll the dice on Thanksgiving Day sales.
“Each retailer is trying to get a larger share of each family’s Christmas gift budget,” said Michelle Weinberger, a professor of marketing communications at Northwestern University. “They hope that opening earlier with special sales will entice consumers to spend.”
Macy’s will be open on Thanksgiving for the first time in company history with doors opening at 8 p.m. on Thursday. Last year, the store opened at 12:01 a.m. on Black Friday.
“The [department store] sales are coming with the turkey,” said Brooklyn College sociology professor Sharon Zukin, author of “Point of Purchase: How Shopping Changed American Culture” and critic of holiday commercialization.
“I don’t think this [more Thanksgiving Day shopping] is a good thing if it’s going to stress out more people.”
Additional reporting by Laura Italiano and David K. Li