NEW YORK – Target Corp. will open its doors at 9:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving, three hours earlier than a year ago, to kick off the holiday shopping season.

The discounter joins several other major retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., that are opening earlier in the evening on the holiday and staggering deals over the two-day period. Over the years, stores have been expanding their hours on Black Friday to get ahead of the competition, but the kickoff is increasingly happening right after shoppers finish their turkey feast.

"We thought long and hard about when the right opening time would be," said Kathee Tesija, Target's executive vice president of merchandising. She said that 9:00 p.m. struck "a perfect balance" for its customers.