The day after Thanksgiving has long been known as "Black Friday" in reference to retailers' numbers being in the black, or showing a profit. But recently, that name could be referenced more to the darkness of the night, when shoppers begin nabbing holiday bargains.

Stores at Tanger Outlets in Rehoboth Beach will open at midnight Thanksgiving night.

"It's a fun event," said Susan Katz of Centreville, Md. "You think you'd get a lot of stuff done by getting there early, but the lines are as bad as they are during the day. One year, the parking lots were full and we couldn't go."

The outlet mall is giving incentives to customers brave the cold. The first 50 shoppers at either the outlet's Midway or Seaside customer service centers will receive a $10 gift card. The next 100 will receive a 10-inch Chris the Moose stuffed animal.

Katz knew from past experiences that shoppers will wait in line for rewards.

"One year, a store was giving away $10 gift cards and there were a lot of people waiting in line -- it's amazing," she said. "We try to have a lot of fun with it. We set up a tailgate party with hot chocolate, coffee and brownies. It's a hit in the parking lot."

Specials will run throughout the weekend at Tanger Outlets, ranging from midnight madness, which runs until 7 a.m. Early-bird sales are held from 7 to 11 a.m. Friday and Saturday at the outlet mall, which will offer even more specials all day Sunday to round out the three-day shopping marathon.

"Depending on what you need, some stores have great deals and some don't," said Lori Smith of Queenstown, Md. "But there's always something, and stores run specials all day. The thing is you have other stuff to get done during the day, so you can't spend all of your day at the outlets."

"The hardest thing is staying up," she said.

But many consumers don't care for the idea of dealing with crowds and wrestling with others for an item, so they prefer to wrap up shopping before Thanksgiving or during slower times.

"I'm not for it," said Geoffrey Reichelt of Seaford. "For me, all that time is burned up fighting crowds. "I prefer either going early, like first thing in the morning, or later when the crowds are home. Or I have my wife do it."

source: delmarvanow.com