Black Friday selling will start a day early this year at some area retailers — and not just at grocery stores looking to benefit from eleventh-hour food sales.

Some specials will be on display as early as Thursday at chain stores like Sears and Walmart, as the retailers try to beat out the competition by staying open on Thanksgiving Day.

“Many Walmart stores, including our three Vancouver locations, are open 24-hours year-round — including Thanksgiving,” said Tiffany Moffatt, a spokeswoman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based chain.

But at least some of Walmart’s Black Friday deals will be kept under wraps until 5 a.m. Friday morning, according to staff at the chain’s Northeast 104th Avenue store in Vancouver.

This year, 31 percent of all U.S. households are expected to make Black Friday shopping excursions, up from 26 percent last year, according to a survey published by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs.

That’s because the shopping day has become a cultural and commercial tradition, said Pam Lindloff, an associate vice president and retail expert at NAI Norris Beggs & Simpson’s Vancouver office.

“The retailers promote it because they have everything to benefit from it. That’s what sales are all about, to motivate shopping and drive people to the stores,” Lindloff said.

For shoppers looking to get a jump on Black Friday deals, some grocery stores will help customers spend less time in the kitchen by offering ready-to-eat dishes on Thanksgiving Day.

“We do it for customer convenience,” said Marco Rennie, store team leader at Whole Foods in Vancouver, where shoppers can buy a cooked turkey dinner with all of the trimmings.

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