Stores go cold turkey over Thanksgiving Day sales

Black Friday is known for being the biggest shopping day of the year, with multiple department and retail stores dropping prices on some of the biggest commodities, most of which pertain to the entertainment.

In an effort to increase profits, some major retail stores have decided to open earlier than usual, some opening on Thanksgiving, to the dismay of some of the general public.

Macy’s, Sears and Walmart have all announced that they will open stores on Thanksgiving Day, albeit some opting to open as late as 6 P.M. and then initiating Black Friday deals around midnight.

However, they won’t have to fear competition from some smaller rivals this year.

Stores such as Gamestop, IKEA and Nordstrom have pledged to keep their stores closed during Thanksgiving despite possibly missing out on huge profits. Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), which specializes in outdoor equipment and sporting goods, is even paying employees to not show up to work on Thanksgiving. The store is also planning to be closed on Black Friday.

In an interview with Here & Now, Jerry Stritzke, the president and CEO of REI, expressed that “Black Friday [had] become a day that tends to be very oriented on consumerism.”

“We started thinking about Black Friday,” said Stritzke. “What we landed on was at the end of the day, the most authentic thing as an outdoor retailer that we could do is encourage people to get outside.”

“I think it’s fine,” said Senior Nicholas Matt. “Since most of these stores will be open on Black Friday, it gives people time to spend with their families.”

“But I think that smaller businesses that might not bring in enough money might want to consider staying open, since they could possibly be missing out on huge profits,” he said.

Mike Buskey, the executive vice president and president of GameStop in the U.S., announced that all GameStop retail stores and its subsidiary companies, which include ThinkGeek and Cricket Wireless would be closed on Thanksgiving and subsequently re-open at 5 AM on Black Friday.

“We believe strongly that our customers and associates should have the opportunity to spend the Thanksgiving holiday relaxing with family and friends,” said Buskey in a press release. The move, according to Buskey, was a way “to protect family time during this important holiday.”

Nordstrom, one of the many stores shutting their doors for Thanksgiving, are even waiting until November 27th to set up Christmas decorations for the sake of “celebrating one holiday at a time.”

Some support the decision to close stores during Thanksgiving, stating that the extended hours that employees would be forced to endure coincide with Black Friday. That is, if a store would stay open on and through Thanksgiving, the likelihood of its employees seeing their families on November 26th drops dramatically.

A group on Facebook has been made as well, titled, ‘Boycott Shopping on Thanksgiving Day’. The group has been liked by over 11 thousand people, while also supporting a petition through Change.org calling for Target to close on Thanksgiving. The petition has over 50,000 supporters.

“I don’t think it should matter,” said Senior Ben Moeller. “Some families may enjoy shopping together during Thanksgiving or Black Friday.”

The list of stores closing their doors on November 25th is likely to grow as the holiday season approaches.