IMG: Flickr via Mike Kalasnik
In recent years, a frustrating trend has developed: “Black Friday” deal times have gotten earlier and earlier. “Early Bird” no longer means arriving at a store at 6 A.M. or 8 A.M. the day after Thanksgiving. It no longer means lining up at midnight or two o’ clock in the morning to get the special “Doorbuster” deals. Each year, the times have been pushed back earlier and earlier… and now Black Friday has expanded into Thanksgiving Thursday.
Last year, some stores made headlines (none too positive) for opening their doors Thursday evening to get the first gush of customers in. And despite the fact that many criticized these businesses for opening on Thanksgiving Day, the numbers don’t lie: they brought in considerable business. This year, even more companies are getting the party started early—seriously early.
Kmart recently announced that it would be opening at 6 A.M. on Thanksgiving morning and would stay open for 41 hours straight. Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and other stores have also announced plans to open before the clock strikes midnight.
“It’s very tragic to me to see stores that [are] increasingly opening on the holiday, which is not only a stress to people who are planning on shopping, but also for the workers,” said Nadja Gutowski, who started a boycott petition for Kmart and other retailers opening on Thanksgiving. “We all want the sales, but can you just hold them until Friday?”
IMG: Flickr via Nicholas Eckhart
A few stores are holding their ground, supporting employees’ and customers’ right to family time on Thanksgiving. Costco, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and Nordstrom are among the few that are refusing to give in to the Black Friday on Thursday madness.
“Our employees work especially hard during the holiday season, and we simply believe that they deserve the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with their families,” said Costco’s VP of membership and marketing, Paul Latham. “Nothing more complicated than that.”
“Maybe call me old fashioned, but I feel that it’s an easy decision to make [to stay closed on Thanksgiving],” chimed in Laura Sen, CEO of BJ’s Wholesale Club.
Unfortunately, many stores do not share viewpoints with Sen and Latham—and asking for time off during the holiday season is often a big no-no for retail workers. Until shoppers take a stand and choose not to give in to those Thursday deals, though, Black Thursday may be here to stay.
It is about time these companies awakened to how their customers feel about their previous disregard of our important American Thanksgiving holiday. I do hope the American public patronizes the stores that will show respect for the holiday and their employees’ family traditions versus Macy’s and Kohls who are still opening on this imporant holiday. Shame on them. Sometime the almighty $ is not the most important element. They can make up the one day closing with good sales over the holidays and, of course, Black Friday!
There is no longer the fun and anticipation of Black Friday, since some selfish, money hungry Companies have opened on Thanksgiving. The only holiday that was left to spend with family without gifts! My company Bloomingdales owned by Macy’s is of course opening again, ruining another year of the holiday season.
I WILL NOT WORK ON THANKSGIVING IT’S A RELIGIOUS FAMILY TIME, I WILL GO IN T MIDNIGHT OR 2AM AND WORK LIKE OTHER YEARS 12 HOURS.
I say congratulations to those companies who have chosen to remain closed, and we should all honor and respect them by NOT SHOPPING AT THE STORES OPENING.
IT’S ONE MORE DAY, ACTUALLY 6 HOURS MORE TO WAIT TILL MIDNIGHT SO THAT BLACK FRIDAY CAN REMAN A SPECIAL FUN DAY. THE SALES WILL BE THE SAME ON FRIDAY, THAT THEY ARE HAVING ON THURSDAY, AND EVEN BETTER CLOSER TO CHRISTMAS.