As Thanksgiving approaches, shoppers are preparing for the Black Friday sales that will hit stores early Friday morning. Over the past few years, several retailers have begun to open their doors late Thanksgiving Day. More and more chain stores have added to this trend and continue to open doors as early as 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.
According to the Huffington Post, Target has revealed that they too will be opening at 6 p.m. Several retailers have followed this trend and so have the complaints that opening so early is causing workers to be away from their families on a nationwide holiday.
Target spokeswoman Jenna Reck told the press that Target aims to “fill as many positions (this year) as we can with volunteers” to work this Thanksgiving holiday. She said that many employees are excited to work the holiday because “it’s a fun night to be out in the stores,” and that managers will order food for those who are working that evening.
Senior Connor Merry, a self-proclaimed die-hard Black Friday shopper, disagrees with the way stores are handling this season, but he still enjoys the sales.
“Call me a hypocrite, I think it is pretty bad,” Merry said. “Not just for encouraging people to leave their families, but also (to) have employees work on Thanksgiving. With all that said, I think I will still shop on Thanksgiving.”
Costco is a retailer that still refuses to open any time on Thanksgiving day. Since other stores have started opening their doors early, many have referred to this as a “war on Thanksgiving” because of the way retailers are working to squeeze every penny out of the holiday season. According to ThinkProgress, Dillard’s, Burlington, REI and American Girl will not open on Thanksgiving Day.
“Our employees work especially hard during the holiday season, and we simply believe that they deserve the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with their families,” Costco spokesperson Paul Latham told the Huffington Post.
According to the Huffington Post, Costco has always treated its workers better than competitors with their higher starting salary and provides health benefits to part-time workers.
Their tradition of being closed on Thanksgiving Day helps to hold that same standard, according to the company.
Some are in favor of the policy of not being open on holidays and waiting to open the next day.
“I think it’s ridiculous and completely takes away from the whole point of Thanksgiving,” senior Kristi Keese said. “I’m ashamed that our society values getting a good deal on a TV more than family. I refuse to ever go that early.”
