What stores are open for Thanksgiving and Black Friday?

Retailers try to offer shoppers a lot of options when it comes to spending money during the holidays.

Stores have tried to meet all their customers’ needs by offering Black Friday deals the week before Thanksgiving, online deals throughout the season and special prices on Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving. And then there is Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday that give shoppers other options.

This is the biggest shopping weekend of the year, according to the National Retail Federation. About 164 million people are planning to shop or considering shopping during Thanksgiving weekend. Twenty percent plan to shop on Thanksgiving Day with 70 percent on Black Friday.

Some stores are open on Thanksgiving Day to accommodate shoppers who want to eat their turkey dinner then hit the stores. Other retailers are closed Thursday and then open at dawn on Black Friday.

Toy R Us, will open their doors at 5 p.m. Thursday and remain open for 30 hours of continuous shopping. Best Buy is opening at 5 p.m. Thursday, will stay open until 1 a.m. Friday, then reopen at 8 a.m. and stay open until 10 p.m. Friday. Of course, online-only Amazon.com is open 24/7 but it offers special deals at various times.

Since 2010, small businesses, commonly locally owned, have created incentives to lure customers in on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, known as Small Business Saturday.

Downtown Perry is hosting such an effort this year and participating shops, which are mostly on Carroll Street and neighboring streets in the downtown area will be open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday

“We hope Small Business Saturday will encourage shoppers to visit businesses they might not have visited before so that they become more familiar with everything downtown Perry has to offer,” event organizers said in a news release.

The event will feature a passport shopping promotion with participating merchants, for a chance for a shopper to win a drawing for $300 in downtown dollars.

Shoppers who want to participate should go to the welcome tent at Roughton Park at Ball and Carroll streets as their first stop. They will receive a free shopping passport and a shopping tote while they last. After getting stickers from at least 12 businesses, shoppers turn in their passport at the last business they visit or at the welcome tent and a passport will be drawn for the winner. No purchase is necessary to participate.

Main Street Macon is sponsoring Shop Small Saturday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. with many of the merchants in downtown Macon. Many stores, including restaurants, will be open during their regular hours so each business’s hours will vary.

To see what businesses are participating, see a map at http://bit.ly/ShopSmallMacon.

The Downtown Macon Open Air Market www.facebook.com/downtownmaconopenairmarket/will be held 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday at 543 Plum St. There will be live music and more than 60 vendors bringing local, handmade and home-grown goods. Also, there will be a full food truck court and a Paw Pal area for furry friends.

Merchants in Ingleside Village in Macon will have regular hours and no special events Saturday, because “we pile everything into our open house” during Christmas in the Village which is held Dec. 1-2, said Jeff Logan, president of the Ingleside Village Merchants Association.

We’re providing a rundown of the hours for Thanksgiving and Black Friday for many of the major retailers with stores in Middle Georgia, according to BestBlackFriday.com. However, confirm the hours with the store before venturing out.

▪  Academy Sports + Outdoors, closed Thursday, 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday.

▪  Barnes & Noble, closed Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday.

▪  Bass Pro Shops, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday, 5 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday.

▪  Bed, Bath & Beyond, closed Thursday, 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday.

▪  Big Lots, 7 a.m.-midnight Thursday, 6 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday.

▪  Burlington, closed Thursday, 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday.

▪  Dick’s Sporting Goods, 6 p.m. Thursday-2 a.m. Friday, 5 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday.

▪  Fred’s, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday.

▪  Goody’s, 2 p.m. Thursday-1 a.m. Friday; 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday.

▪  Hobby Lobby, closed Thursday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday.

▪  JCPenney, 2 p.m. Thursday- 10 p.m. Friday.

▪  Macy’s, 5 p.m. Thursday-2 a.m. Friday, 6 a.m.-1 p.m Friday.

▪  PetSmart, closed Thursday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday.

▪  Sam’s Club, closed Thursday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday.

▪  Stein Mart, closed Thursday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday.

▪  Target, 6 p.m.-midnight Thursday, 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday

▪  WalMart, most locations open 24 hours.

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 5:53 PM with the headline "What stores are open for Thanksgiving and Black Friday?."