These Stores Refuse to Open On Thanksgiving Day

Nothing is more American than the Thanksgiving holiday. As a cherished time when families gather for good food and connection, many stores have traditionally remained closed to encourage employees to spend the day with their own families.  However, in the past couple of years more and more store chains have opened earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving. Macy’s announced that it would open for Black Friday sales at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Last year the department store chain opened at 8 p.m. Kohl’s and Sears are also opening at 6 p.m. this year, and JCPenney is opening at 5 p.m.

However, not all store chains are opening on Thanksgiving. There are about two dozen stores that will stay closed. The Facebook page Boycott Black Thursday compiled a list of stores, as did Mental Floss. Some of the stores refusing to open on Thanksgiving include Costco, Nordstrom, Patagonia, Dillard's, TJ Maxx and Marshall’s.

Some stores have respect for the Thanksgiving holiday

Why are these store chains going against the trend to open earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving? Some of them spoke to ThinkProgress, and it appears the stores have respect for their employees’ time off. Patagonia is one of them, and the store chain simply said, “It’s a holiday – we’re closed!”

Department store chains Nordstrom and Dillard’s also spoke to ThinkProgress. Dillard’s told the publication that it decided to stay closed on Thanksgiving “in longstanding tradition of honoring of our customers’ and associates’ time with family.” Nordstrom said that it is the company’s tradition to stay closed on Thanksgiving. “Over the years, our tradition has been to be closed on Thanksgiving and to unveil our holiday trim the following morning.”

TJX owns T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and Sierra Trading Post. All of its stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day. A spokesperson for TJX told ThinkProgress, “We consider ourselves an associate-friendly company, and, we are pleased to give our associates the time to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.”

A mixed review from American consumers

Do the American people really want to shop on Thanksgiving? Polls show that while some do, some do not. A survey by Accenture found that 45 percent of those polled plan to shop on Thanksgiving, up from 38 percent in 2013. Almost half of those who said they plan to shop on Thanksgiving plan to visit a physical store between 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving and 5 a.m. on Black Friday.

A RichRelevance survey found that 6 in 10 polled said they “hate” or “dislike” stores opening on Thanksgiving. Only 12 percent said they “like” or “love” the retail practice.

Image credit: tsheln