Retailers have officially lost the so-called “war on Thanksgiving.” An increasing number of retailers are closing on Thanksgiving Day this year in response to backlash against the trend of starting Black Friday sales a day early.
CBL & Associates, the operator of 89 regional malls and shopping centers, announced it would close 73 of its locations on Thanksgiving Day and not open until 6 a.m. on Black Friday, CNBC reported. Last year, the mall operator opened at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
The Mall of America, which has opened on Thanksgiving for the last four years, will be closed on the holiday this year. Retailers like Home Depot and REI have already announced their plans to stay closed on the holiday as well. Nordstrom, Costco, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls are also among the stores that will remain closed on Thanksgiving next month.
Many retailers say the decision to close is motivated by the fact that Thanksgiving is a day that’s meant to be spent at home with family.
“We think Thanksgiving is a day for families and for people we care about,” Jill Renslow, the Mall of America’s senior vice president of marketing, told The Associated Press of the mall’s decision to close on Thanksgiving. “We want to give this day back.”
In recent years, an increasing number of retailers have started kicking off their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day. But dozens of stores and even some malls, including Mall of America, are refusing to open on the holiday this year.
Macy’s on the other hand will stick with Thanksgiving hours, opening even earlier this year.
Do you prefer the good old days of waking up at 3AM to go sip coffee and stand in line? Would you rather retail employees got Thanksgiving off? Are you sick of Black Friday turning into “Grey Thursday”?
