CHICAGO, IL— It may not be Halloween yet, but Sears is taking the Christmas creep one step further.
The department store says it will offer what it calls "Black Friday doorbuster" deals beginning this Friday, nearly a month before the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving sales.
Sears says the offers will rotate each week and be available 7 a.m.- noon each Saturday. However, it's kicking off the effort with a special markdown this Friday.
Sears spokeswoman Natalie Norris-Howser said the deals will rotate each week. But they'll be available only from 7 a.m. until noon each Saturday. (For the first week of the promotion, Sears will begin the sales this Friday at 5 p.m.)
Norris-Howser said Sears, which is based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., will also offer Saturday specials after Black Friday in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
The day after Thanksgiving is dubbed Black Friday because it often was the day when shoppers helped stores break into profitability for the full year.
Experts say Sears' decision to start the sales nearly a month in advance shows just how worried retailers are about what's expected to be a grim holiday season.
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