Marathon hours seek strong end to shopping

NEW YORK – Some stores are ending the holiday shopping season the same way they began it – with round-the-clock, marathon shopping hours.

Kohl’s for the first time is staying open for essentially five days straight, from 6 a.m. on Friday through 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

Macy’s and Kmart are opening some of their stores for more than 100 hours in a row from Friday through Christmas Eve. And Toys R Us is staying open for 87 hours straight starting today, which is typically the second biggest shopping day of the year.

The expanded hours in the final days before Christmas are reminiscent of how some retailers typically begin the season on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday.

This isn’t the first year retailers have used marathon hours to lure shoppers. Toys R Us will stay open from 6 a.m. today to 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve – the fourth year it’s had marathon hours at the end of the season. And this is the third year Kmart has offered round-the-clock hours: The discounter opened a little more than one-tenth of its 1,100 stores at 6 a.m. on Friday and will keep them open until 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

Macy’s began testing its 24-hour strategy in 2006, but it has made tweaks this year. Most Macy’s locations were open for 48 hours straight during the final two days before Christmas last year. But this year, 37 of Macy’s 800 stores opened at 7 a.m. Friday and will stay open for 107 hours until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

The rest of Macy’s locations will be open between 7 a.m. and 2 a.m. through Monday. And on Christmas Eve, most Macy’s stores will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“Our customers love the option to shop late night, overnight and/or first thing in the morning,” said Elina Kazan, a Macy’s spokeswoman.