Target announced on Monday that it will open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening for its Black Friday Sales.

"We heard from our guests that they look forward to kicking off their holiday shopping with deal-hunting on Thanksgiving night," said Kathee Tesija, executive vice president, merchandising, for Target.

"Opening at 9 p.m. gives Target's Black Friday guests a more convenient way to create an after-dinner shopping event that the entire family can enjoy," the company has claimed.

According to CNN, this is the earliest Target has opened for the occasion as they opened at midnight on Thanksgiving night last year.

But Target, the No. 2 retailer in the nation, won't be beat by its larger rival Wal-Mart, which has moved its opening for its Black Friday Sales to 8 p.m. from 10 p.m. last year.

Both stores are competing with each other with different sales to keep shoppers at their stores longer.

Some specials by Target that won't start until 4 a.m. on Black Friday include, a Samsung 50" LED HDTV for $699, a Canon A3400 Camera Bundle for $89.99, Fisher-Price Doodlepro Classic for $10, Leapfrog Explorer Software for $15 and a $10 gift card for shoppers who spend $50 or more on clothing.

Wal-Mart on the other hand, is adding a little twist to its Black Friday sales, guaranteeing that everyone in its stores between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Thanksgiving night will have the opportunity to receive one of the three big deals: an Apple iPad 2 and a $75 Wal-Mart gift card, for $399.99, an LG Blu-Ray player for $38, or a 32-inch Emerson HD TV for $138.

Targets meanwhile is offering the iPad 2 for $399.99 with a slightly less generous $60 gift card.

"Wal-Mart is taking items they're going to lose money on and not limiting the inventory like every store has forever," Wilson said.

"I doubt anyone else will try to match that. It'll hurt Wal-Mart less than anyone else because their scale and margins are better."