Mitchell Modell, the CEO of Modell’s Sporting Goods, described as “excruciating” his decision to open the company’s doors on Thanksgiving night at 8 p.m., for the first time in the chain’s 125-year history.

“It was a decision that I thought I would never have to make,” Modell said in a MarketWatch interview. “We would never have initiated this.

Modells.com

“When Macy’s /quotes/zigman/467976/delayed /quotes/nls/m M announced, it becomes a ripple effect. We had no other choice. I thought we’d be doing our customers a disservice by not opening.”

In the final countdown to the traditional kickoff of the holiday season, Black Friday this year has definitively crept into Thursday, with more retailers than ever, including J.C. Penney Co. /quotes/zigman/237947/delayed /quotes/nls/jcp JCP , jumping on the Thanksgiving bandwagon. While Friday itself is still expected to be the biggest sales and traffic day of the season, Thursday is likely to take some sales share.

For retailers the big question may be this: Will opening on Thanksgiving be profitable? Forecasts don’t place the day among the top 10 shopping days. A MarketWatch reader poll shows more than 90% not planning to interrupt their Thanksgivings to shop, amplifying a National Retail Federation survey showing a majority of shoppers not planning to shop Thursday.

Modell said he was so worried about employee feedback that he took a poll, too, and was surprised to find workers welcomed the chance to earn time-and-a-half holiday pay, along with the $25 gift card he’s offering each of them. Each store also will have a raffle, giving winning employees richer rewards like sports tickets and TVs.

Andria Cheng/MarketWatch H&M window in New York.

“It’s costing a lot of money with these initiatives,” he said, adding that Thursday also will be the company’s most aggressive in terms of “doorbuster” pricing (one example: Nike fleeces, 50% off). “Thursday night will not be profitable. It’s not about profit on this day. It’s about not losing market share.”

He acknowledged Modell’s isn’t likely to attract the first wave of shopper traffic, but the company hopes to benefit as “spillover” shoppers finish their bargain hunting at larger chains.

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While many other retailers declined to specify whether the day will be profitable or not, the flood of doorbuster deals and special buys from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. /quotes/zigman/245476/delayed /quotes/nls/wmt WMT to Best Buy Co. /quotes/zigman/219712/delayed /quotes/nls/bby BBY typically are worked out with suppliers months in advance, analysts said. Retailers, especially general-merchandise chains, also hope people will buy items that are not on sale to fill their shopping carts.

Retailers “aren’t losing money,” said Craig Johnson of Customer Growth Partners, which advises both institutional investors and retailers. “Because [for doorbuster offers] that was the nature of the buy. … Retailers know [that if a shopper waits] in line that’s 20 to 30 deep, you probably are going to get a second or third item.”

Electronics retailer HHGregg /quotes/zigman/462162/delayed /quotes/nls/hgg HGG , for instance, worked out doorbuster-deal plans with manufacturers months in advance, reported marketing chief Jeff Pearson. He declined to specify to MarketWatch whether Thursday would itself be profitable. While the count of promotional items is similar to last year’s, this year HHGregg is enticing shoppers with as much as half off the prices of many in-demand name-brand products, including Samsung and Whirlpool appliances.

Retailers also hope that any early buzz will carry over into the remainder of the holiday season. In fact, retailers across varied categories have staggered doorbuster specials through Friday to lure early-morning shoppers as well as the majority of Americans who have planned to stay away from the stores Thursday.

“We are thinking of the entire weekend,” said Richard Barry, Toys “R” Us’s chief merchandising officer, adding that Toys “R” Us for the first time will put its entire roster of doorbuster specials online at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. “With a compressed holiday season, it’s important that, for those who want to play in the sport of Black Friday, we are giving them as many choices as we can. Every day really counts.”

Barry also declined to specify whether it’s going to be an in-the-black Thursday.

Early buzz last year didn’t manage to salvage a disappointing holiday season, but most retailers feel Black Friday and Thanksgiving opening hours are games they can’t afford not to play. J.C. Penney /quotes/zigman/237947/delayed /quotes/nls/jcp JCP learned that lesson after effectively opting out of the rush of promotions early last holiday season.

“Black Friday is hugely important,” said Gilford Securities analyst Bernard Sosnick. “You don’t know what happens in the days after the big festival of buying. You’ve got to get your sales early and fast.”

— Andria Cheng

— Follow her on Twitter @AndriaCheng

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