NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's shoppers on Thursday put down the turkey to take advantage of Thanksgiving deals.

Stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving that’s named Black Friday because that's when stores traditionally turn a profit for the year. But Black Friday openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Target to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie.

Target Corp. is opening its doors at 9 p.m. on the holiday, three hours earlier than last year. Sears, which didn’t open on Thanksgiving last year, is opening at 8 p.m. on Thursday through 10 p.m. on Black Friday. Toys R Us will be opening at 8 p.m., an hour earlier than last year. And others such as Macy's Inc. are opening at midnight on Black Friday.

Retailers are hoping that the Thanksgiving openings will draw shoppers who prefer to head to stores after their turkey dinner rather than braving the crowds early the next morning. Overall, about 17 percent of shoppers plan to take advantage of Thanksgiving hours, according to a International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs survey of 1,000 consumers.

Michael Prothero, 19, and Kenny Fullenlove, 20, even were willing to miss Thanksgiving dinner altogether for deals. They started camping out on Monday night outside a Best Buy store in Toledo, Ohio, which was slated to open at midnight. The friends, who were waiting to get 40-inch televisions, videogames and a tablet computer, came early to make sure they got the deals advertised by Best Buy, even though the next person in line didn’t arrive until almost 24 hours later.

“Better safe than sorry,” Prothero said.

The Thanksgiving hours are an effort by stores to make shopping more convenient for Americans, who still face economic uncertainty. Many shoppers are worried about high unemployment and a package of tax increases and spending cuts known as the “fiscal cliff” that will take effect in January unless Congress passes a budget deal by then. At the same time, Americans have grown more comfortable shopping on websites such as Amazon.com, where they can get cheaper prices and buy from the comfort of their home or office cubicle.