If consumers thought Black Friday started too early on Thanksgiving last year, they will be astonished by start times this year.
Black Friday was a 6 a.m. start time for many retailers, but over the years, the time has crept earlier and earlier.
This year, Kmart is going to open at 6 a.m. Thanksgiving. Yes, that’s correct, the Kmart retail stores will be open for 42 hours straight — from 6 a.m. Thanksgiving through midnight Black Friday.
Sears Holding senior vice president Leena Munjal said in a statement: “This holiday season is all about giving more to our members and because many like to start shopping well before Black Friday, we’re excited to open our doors early on Thanksgiving and offer other early access opportunities for them to shop and save.”
Stores like Sears, Best Buy, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Walmart and Target open at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving, which is two hours earlier than last year’s times.
Consumers stand in line or camp out for hours waiting for the stores to open to possibly get the one item they really care about, but why?
The opening hours take away from the employees’ time with family and also the people who wait in the line.
A Time magazine story reported the Walden Galleria in upstate New York is fining stores in the mall that won’t open on Thanksgiving.
It is all for a buck understandably, but these stores are taking time away from the tradition of the holiday.
The norm was to wake up to watch the Macy’s parade, snack on deviled eggs and be a Cowboys fan for the 3 p.m. game. The thought of getting dressed to go shopping wasn’t a concern until the next day, but the agenda is all changing.
With no set laws in place for opening times at retail stores, they can just run amuck. Any law that would set hours on the holiday would seem anti-business.
Some stores have shunned the notion of opening on Thanksgiving. A spokesperson for TJX, the parent company of Marshall’s and T.J. Maxx, said TJX considers itself an associate-friendly company and will give its employees Thanksgiving Day off to enjoy time with family and friends.
Costco, who will also stay closed on Thanksgiving, released a statement saying, “Our employees work especially hard during the holiday season, and we simply believe that they deserve the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with their families. Nothing more complicated than that.”
If someone wonders why these stores keep opening earlier every year, it’s because the people buying the items keep coming back.
To stop the nonsense, stop shopping at the stores on Thanksgiving, plain and simple.
If the lines become scarce, the stores see lower profit and people just stay home with family and friends, these retailers will have no choice but to change the way they operate.
If these stores keep up with the rate they are on now, people might as well be prepared for Black Friday to become nonexistent and Thanksgiving to be open for shopping the entire day.
Where is the tradition in that?
