As retailers continue to compete with online retail giants like Amazon, Black Friday is inching closer to becoming Black Thursday. Macy's recently announced that they will be opening their doors nationwide at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day — two hours earlier than last year's 8 p.m. start.

Last year was the first year that Macy's opened on Thanksgiving, and according to Macy’s spokeswoman Holly Thomas, the retailer saw "significant, sustained customer interest" from shoppers. At the Herald Square location in New York City, 15,000 shoppers turned out to shop Macy's first-ever Thanksgiving opening.

Other retailers like Kohl's, J.C. Penney and Sears joined in on this trend last year, opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, but outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas predicts that more retailers will follow Macy's lead by opening at 6 p.m. this year.

Retailers are struggling to lift sales due to stagnant wages and a newly recovering economy. And brick-and-mortar stores are also facing stiff competition from online retailers, forcing them to stay open longer and on holidays.

Beyond the potential revenue the new shopping holiday offers to retailers, Thanksgiving Day shopping has turned into a family outing. Unlike the late-night and early-morning shopping hours of Black Friday, children are able to go shopping with their parents on Thanksgiving night.

Wal-Mart spokesperson Sarah McKinney said the retailer saw many families turn out for their 2013 Thanksgiving opening. A recent survey by the coupon site RetailMeNot.com supported Wal-Mart's findings. In the survey, 22 percent of respondents answered that they think Thanksgiving Day shopping is a fun holiday activity, and a quarter responded that the day is their most popular shopping day.

The trend toward Thanksgiving Day shopping also provides a hidden value for retail workers. The workers, many of whom volunteer to work on the holiday, are given extra pay. Macy's employees who worked the holiday last year felt it was worth the perk of getting Black Friday off.

Industry forecasters predict holiday retail sales to jump 4.1 percent this year, outdoing last year's growth. As always, consumers will be on the lookout for good deals. But because customers may have a slightly larger budget than last year due to the recovering economy, they will place more importance on the actual quality and value of the deal.

If the Thanksgiving Day shopping trend continues to be profitable for retailers, consumers may see the end of Black Friday shopping altogether.

"Bricks-and-mortar retailers more and more are basically having to compete in that marketplace. In some ways we have little choice, and we'll see more and more creep of Black Friday into Thanksgiving," says John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Numerous studies support the eventual extinction of Black Friday. For years, the number of shoppers hitting the stores the day after Thanksgiving has dwindled. The extra sales could even negatively impact December revenue numbers.

But with most retailers seeing little wage growth, all strategies to drive sales and increase the bottom line will be exhausted this holiday season.