Kohl's Black Friday sales are starting three full days before Thanksgiving

Eric Risberg / AP Images

• Kohl's Black Friday sales are starting online at 12:01 CT the Monday before Thanksgiving.
• In-store sales kick off at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day - an hour earlier than last year.

Kohl's is kicking off Black Friday before most people have even started preparing their turkeys.

The retailer's Black Friday deals will start going live online at 12:01 a.m. CT on Monday, November 20, according to a leaked ad obtained by BlackFriday.com.

Kohl's in-store Black Friday sales start when doors open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day - an hour earlier than its 6 p.m. start last year.

The company did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. We will update as more information about Kohl's Black Friday plans become available.

Retailers have started kicking off Black Friday sales earlier and earlier to better compete in an increasingly difficult industry. While this can help retailers win over customers, it also dilutes the emphasis on one day - Black Friday - as the ultimate holiday for budget shoppers.

"I think the traditionalists will have a hard time stomaching that," Josh Elman, a consumer and retail analyst with Nasdaq Advisory Services, told Business Insider. "But I think at the end of the day ... the whole idea and concept of Black Friday deals in store will diminish over time."