Mall opens in wee hours on Nov. 24

MURRAY — Shoppers looking for bargains the day after Thanksgiving won't have to wake up early to find deals at one Utah mall — they don't even have to go to bed.

Fashion Place Mall will be opening moments after midnight, giving early-morning shoppers hours to search for deals before most people ever wake up.

General Growth, which owns Fashion Place and tested the idea in 2001 at its Riverchase Galleria shopping center in Alabama, said midnight promotions create a stir and boost sales.

"We're excited about this because in other cities, thousands of people showed up," said Tamara DeMilt, senior marketing manager.

Some merchants are concerned sales in the early hours might be spotty, especially because the mall's anchors — Nordstrom, Dillard's, Sears and Macy's — won't be open.

Sears is planning the earliest opening of the mall's anchors that day, at 5 a.m., with Nordstrom opening four hours later, DeMilt said.

DeMilt estimated that at least 130 of the mall's 150 shops, kiosks and food outlets would open for the extended hours.

Iris Jacobsen, who sells candle warmers in the mall, worries about paying someone to work all night and then seeing lackluster sales.

She said she expects to have difficulty finding anyone to work at her kiosk in the early-morning hours. "I certainly don't want to be here," she said.