Shoppers eat early or late to hunt for bargains on Thanksgiving

For many Long Islanders, turkey seemed almost like a side dish to Thursday's main entree of Thanksgiving savings that stores had to offer.

"The traffic is way better than we expected," said Michael Balale, general manager at the Roosevelt Field mall's J.C. Penney, which opened two hours earlier than last Thanksgiving. "The customer demand is here for this type of opening. They don't mind eating earlier or later to go out shopping."

That was true of Sejal Darji, 14, her father Paraj, 41, of Hicksville, and their extended family, full of lunchtime turkey as they waited in line for J.C. Penney to open at 3 p.m.

Sejal nabbed the pair of shoes and Batman onesie she wanted her father to buy.

"It's cheap," she said.

Shoppers hit the Island's malls and department stores -- and the Web -- on a warmer-than-average Thanksgiving Day, feasting on discounted deals as the holiday shopping season kicked into high gear.

Dubbed by some as "Gray Thursday," Thanksgiving Day store openings offer shoppers an extra day to make their purchases and an alternative to Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year.

Many retailers -- including Walmart, Macy's, Best Buy, Kohl's, Kmart, Sears, Toys R Us, J.C. Penney, Target, Old Navy and RadioShack -- opened Thursday, a few as early as 8 a.m. But most didn't let customers in stores until 6 p.m.

For millennials, shopping on Thanksgiving is a social occasion, said Heather Morgan, store manager of Macy's at Roosevelt Field. Many shoppers are picking up activewear, fragrances, cosmetics and men's clothes, she said.

"People are shopping more and more to get ahead of the game," Morgan said.

About 41 percent of shoppers in a survey said they planned to go online on Thanksgiving, up from last year's 11.1 percent, while 36 percent said they intended to shop in-store, up from last year's 23 percent, according to Market Track, an advertising and promotions firm based in Chicago.

Shoppers were on the hunt for big-screen televisions, high-end headphones, cellphones and digital fitness bands this weekend, said Marshal Cohen, retail analyst with the Port Washington-based NPD Group.

But some retailers -- including P.C. Richard & Son, Nordstrom, H & M, Burlington Stores, DSW, Home Goods, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and GameStop -- refused to open so employees and customers could spend the holiday with families and friends. Instead, they plan to open Friday, some as early as 5 a.m.

Michael Levak, manager of a Valley Stream Best Buy, said this year customers seemed to be much more aware of how fast deals can go, evidenced by the long line.

"I think our customers are a lot more trained this year," he said. "Last year was the first time we opened at five and closed at one. Customers are a lot more trained so we have a ton more people in line I think than we did last year."

With Ellen Yan