Stores are staying open for record-high hours, in efforts to attract last-minute holiday shoppers.
Kohl's plans to stay open from 6 a.m. on Friday through 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve - for the first time in the department store chain's history, doors will be open for nearly five days straight.
Some Macy's and Kmart locations will remain open for at least 100 hours in a row from Friday to Christmas Eve, according to the Associated Press. Toys R Us will be open for business for 87 hours straight starting Saturday - largely regarded as the second biggest shopping day of the year.
The decision to extend store hours comes as companies scramble to make heightened sales in light of a shortened holiday season and a still-struggling economy. AP reported that the time period between Black Friday - the official beginning of the holiday shopping season - and the end of the period is six days shorter than in previous years.
"It's make or break for the retailers," chairman of America's Research Group C. Britt Beemer told AP. "They have to make up for lost ground."
For shoppers like Peter Sallese, who didn't make holiday purchases due to money problems, weather and a shortened shopping season, the expanded hours could help.
The New York City financial executive told AP that he usually wraps up his holiday shopping by the middle of December, but this year, he couldn't keep up.
"Basically, when I came back from Thanksgiving, there was no time," Sallese said. "Add in the snow and the freezing weather, and you didn't feel like shopping."
