Mass. laws hinder jumpstart holiday shoppers

BRAINTREE, Mass. (WHDH) -- Retailers are trying to get a jumpstart on the holiday shopping season, with some stores wanting to open their doors on Thanksgiving Day.

However, Massachusetts laws prevent stores from opening on the holiday.

“I think they should stay closed. I think everybody should stay home with their families,” said one shopper.

But stores are edging as close to the law as they can, opening at 12:30 a.m. on Black Friday, their earliest opening ever.

“From what I can see there have been a lot of people out already shopping very early on this year,” said Mark Whiting, North Shore Mall.

Some shoppers even said they are done with their shopping and just picking up a few small gifts.

“We have many tenants that offer big door buster type of values. Huge promotions. Their businesses have grown exponentially,” said Whiting.

But, some say it’s still too early to think about holiday shopping.

“I like Nordstrom’s policy of not putting any decorations up until after Thanksgiving,” said shopper, Maryann Conway.

Nordstrom isn’t hanging a single holiday decoration until Black Friday and they will open comparatively late at 9 a.m.

But, plenty of people are saying that with money tight, the sooner you shop, the more you save.

The Retailers Association is now saying they might reconsider the law that prevents stores from opening on Thanksgiving Day.

“We need to consider whether we’re really stopping consumers here in Massachusetts from shopping or if we’re just stopping them from shopping in Massachusetts,” said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Assocation of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine are the only three states in the country where you can’t shop on Thanksgiving.

The Retailers Association of Massachusetts projects that holiday shopping will be up 3.5 percent.