Shopping on the menu for Thanksgiving

Michigan retailers are optimistic that holiday sales will be better this year.

The first real test comes this week. 

 Thanksgiving is such a pivotal time for Michigan retailers many aren’t waiting for their customers to finish their turkey dinners.

K-Mart, Sears and other retailers plan to be open on Thanksgiving day.   Many other stores, like Banana Republic and the Gap will open their doors Thursday night.

"No one’s even waiting for the day after Thanksgiving anymore,"  says Tom Scott, with the Michigan Retailers Association, "A lot of retailers are, if they’re not opening on Thanksgiving...they’re trying to push people to the website to do some shopping on a holiday itself."

Scott says their survey shows 58 percent of state retailers expect their sales will be up 1 to 6 percent over last year.