Some retailers opened their doors earlier than ever this Black Friday weekend, so was it the right call?



BROOKFIELD (WITI) -- Retailers opened their doors early this year -- several on Thanksgiving evening. So now that Thanksgiving and Black Friday are behind us store officials are reflecting on whether opening up on the holiday was the right decision.

Brookfield Square Mall opened at 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving. It's the earliest the mall has opened for Black Friday shoppers. Boston Store's CEO tells FOX6 News the decision to open on Thanksgiving was the right call.

"The mall was crowded at 5 o`clock and at 6 o`clock we were thrilled with the lines waiting outside the Boston Store," Bon-Ton Stores CEO Kathy Bufano said.

Bufano spent Thanksgiving evening at the mall as the department store opened two hours earlier than last year.

"It was not a mob scene but it was very, very, very busy," Bufano said.

Bufano says the decision to open on Thanksgiving evening was influenced by the competition.

"When we found out our competitors, JCPenney, Kohl`s and Macys were opened at 6:00 or 5:00, we knew we wanted to be there for our customers so that was our decision," Bufano said.

Boston Store associates were paid time-and-a-half and a caterer brought in food. Bufano says it's too soon to know whether the store will open at the 6:00 p.m. again next year.

"We`ll have to analyze when it`s all said and done six weeks from now," Bufano said.

By Sunday afternoon, November 30th, traffic at Brookfield Square seemed a little sluggish -- perhaps because the Packers were playing.

Mary Kaminski chose to miss the game for one more day of holiday shopping.

"It seems very relaxed and not busy at all. Real slow," Kaminski said.

Bufano says things may have been a little slower on Sunday afternoon because shoppers are gearing up for Cyber Monday.