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Customers are cruising through the aisles under blazing fluorescent lights and elevator music.

A young woman is lingering in the cosmetics section while a couple debates over a new memory card.

It's just like any other day at this sprawling Wal-Mart department store.

The only difference is that it's nearly 2 a.m. on Sunday.

This Kitchener location is one of 25 Wal-Mart Canada stores that will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from now on.

The company's announcement last week makes it the first major department store chain in the country to keep its doors open all night past the peak holiday season.

For nighthawks and shift workers like Betty MacCallum, the change means they suddenly have the ability to linger in the clothing department and take their time looking for bargains without the stress of daylight shopping.

"It's totally relaxing. You don't have little rug rats, little jam-faced kids. It's actually very nice," said Ms. MacCallum, a shift worker in the city's transportation industry. "This is my time for me."

Although some grocery and drug-store chains have been staying open around the clock for a few years, Wal-Mart's move into the all-night market represents a significant change that could push competitors to do the same.

"This soon is going to be quite normal," said John Winter, retail analyst and president of John Winter Associates in Toronto. "It's all [got] to do with convenience. Some people find it convenient to be out late."

While the midnight shopping experience will serve to accommodate those with unconventional schedules, it's also a sign that consumers are no longer content to let stores make the rules, said Maureen Atkinson, senior partner at J.C. Williams Group, a retail consultancy firm in Toronto.

Rather than wait until morning, an increasing number of consumers simply demand flexible hours and instant service, Ms. Atkinson said. "It's what we've come to expect, even things like stores being open on holidays. This is what it takes to compete."

During the holiday season, Wal-Mart offered all-night opening at 80 stores in Canada, a service so popular it was quickly expanded to include 190 outlets and extended until New Year's Eve.

Wal-Mart, which has 292 stores in Canada, has been gently testing the all-night market for the past three years and service could grow depending on demand, said Kevin Groh, spokesman for the company.

Many of the all-night stores are located in smaller cities such as Timmins, Ont., Dartmouth, N.S., and Prince Albert, Sask. However, Calgary has four all-night Wal-Mart stores and there are several in the Greater Toronto Area. Mr. Groh said stores were chosen on the basis of their performance during the holiday

season.

The company will keep its eye on sales to determine whether the all-night service is viable in this country.

"We know we're serving many customers who work in shift industries. We're serving families with tough schedules, and just generally anyone whose life tests the boundaries of the standard day," Mr. Groh said.

The all-night stores typically are not busy all night. Traffic tends to peak between midnight and 2 a.m. and in the premorning rush, starting at about 5 a.m.

"It's not necessarily a store full of nighthawks that want to be shopping at 3:30 in the morning," said Mr. Groh.

Although there are some slow hours, Mr. Groh said Wal-Mart wants to be available to its customers whenever they are ready to shop.

"You've got people wanting to go into the fitting rooms and try stuff on at 3 o'clock in the morning," said Shari Wentworth, an assistant night manager at Wal-Mart in Kitchener. "You're not waiting in line-ups, so they're finding it really convenient."

Ms. Wentworth said even though the holiday rush is over, the store has been packed in the post-midnight hours in recent days, particularly on weekends. But there have also been some long, slow nights.

Customer Patrick Spielmacher said the extended hours simply suit his lifestyle, and he'd rather be out running errands and picking up items when most others are asleep.

"It's nice. There's virtually nobody else out shopping," said Mr. Spielmacher, who lives in Kitchener. "It makes it easier."