The Grinch who stole Black Friday

Meijer has made it so shoppers don’t have to pore through circulars on Thanksgiving Day and then wake at 3 a.m. to wait in line and jostle with other customers on Black Friday.

Meijer said it is making holiday shopping easier for customers this year by offering aggressive Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday doorbuster deals on popular brands all day long while supplies last.

"Holiday shopping can be very stressful, so Meijer is focused on making the experience easier for our customers," said J.K. Symancyk, Meijer’s COO. "By offering our special deals beginning at 6 a.m. on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday, our customers won't have to worry about waking up in the middle of the night to stand in line and can choose how early or late they want to shop for the hottest holiday gifts."

The company plans to send its Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day ad previews to customers who currently receive e-mail alerts from Meijer, as well as the more than 860,000 Meijer Facebook fans and Twitter followers. It is a smart strategy because it encourages more shoppers to like the company on Facebook and follow it on Twitter to secure access to the promotional officers.

The company is also promoting a loyalty initiative called Santa Bucks that will be available the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The digital Santa Bucks are available through the company’s mPerks digital coupon program, which will allow customers the ease of digitally clipping coupons using their text-enabled cell phones. The Meijer mPerks program was launched in the fall of 2010, and has 830,000 subscribers, with more than 5,000 joining the program each week.