Black Friday store hours: Should Thanksgiving Day be off-limits?
Customers line up outside of Toys"R"Us on Thanksgiving last year. Roanoke Times File Photo
Last year many stores opened on Thanksgiving, starting with Toys “R” Us at 9 p.m. and Walmart at 10 p.m.
Stores are beginning to declare their Black Friday hours for 2012, and reports are that at least one, Toys “R” Us, is planning to open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Several Black Friday websites are reporting that Target, Macy’s, Hhgregg, Best Buy, Walmart and Kohls will open at midnight.
Thanksgiving Day shopping appears to be catching on with some consumers.
This Ad Age story reports that after last year, many stores realized there is an appetite for Thanksgiving Day shopping. And, The National Retail Federation reported that in 2011 nearly 29 million people shopped on Thanksgiving, up from 18 million in 2009.
Did you shop last year on Thanksgiving, and if so, did you like heading out to the stores after your turkey dinner? Or do you think Thanksgiving Day should be off-limits?
November 7, 2012 - 6:00 AM
It’s a shame that Rocky has to clean this mess up, but I...
Yes I like the idea of being able to shop after Thanksgiving Dinner, some of us have to work on black Friday and can’t take advantage of the sales. Everyone is together after dinner and it’s fun to make this a new tradition,so yes, yes, yes to stores being open and shopping after Thanksgiving Dinner
It is bad enough that stores open at midnight on Black Friday, but to be open on Thanksgiving Day is even worse.
Doesn’t anyone ever consider the ‘holidays’ for the store employees? When will it be enough profit at the expense of the lives of the employees?
Opening at a reasonable hour just makes the crowds worse. I tried it last year at Target in Charlottesville; the lines were around the building and down the block. The kicker is that I went back at 10am the next morning, and all of the (mostly electronic) goodies I was looking for were still there?! I guess those bazillion people were all shopping for something else?
I think Thanksgiving Day should be off limits for any companies that actually value their employees rather than just profit. Thanksgiving should be a time for spending with family or even just sitting at home reflecting on the blessings you have. Not for rushing out to shop, 1 more day isnt going to hurt anything.
The big box retail stores are ruining the tradition of Thanksgiving, which is to spend time with your family and friends and be thankful for the things that you have.
What bothers me isn’t that someone would like to shop on Thanksgiving, is that they don’t think about the people who are giving up their time with their families for others to shop.
I’ve been on both sides, my family and I once went shopping on Thanksgiving, because we were done eating and why not, the stores were open?? But then one year I was that person working Thanksgiving. And it put a different perspective on all of it.
I try not to go out shopping at a time that I would be annoyed to be working.
I think Thanksgiving should be off limits for shopping. Retail and service industry people get very few holidays off, if any, and i think that Thanksgiving, being the one of the few truly only American holidays that celebrate friends, family and sharing should be off for everyone. I have so many friends that have to not celebrate this wonderful time with their families and friends because they are mandatory work days. Christmas season in general has become so over commercialized the holiday is being killed from the true meaning, overshadowing all other holidays because of greed.
I think Thanksgiving Day needs to be off limits. Let people (consumers & store employees) spend the time with their families. I would be happy to go back to the days where the stores opened at 5 AM on Black Friday.
I made a trip to Walmart after Thanksgiving dinner last year, to buy 1 specific, non-Black Friday item that we ran out of.
I do not shop Black Friday sales, and I will continue to not patronize any retail establishment on that day.
Having worked in retail previously, and my wife too, those folks could stand the break…they get exceedingly few, don’t get paid all that well to begin with, and often aren’t compensated for the time off anyway. Making them work on a holiday just adds insult to injury…I vote with my dollars by not indulging in the consumerism equivalent of a Roman orgy. I’ll have no part of it.
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Why not have the stores open on Christmas? Not everyone opens their presents at the crack of dawn… sometimes aunts and uncles, even poor elderly grandparents with feeble minds, forget to pick up a gift and really need the opportunity to make a last-minute stop.
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When profit is valued more than the employees’ right to spend time with their families on major holidays like Thanksgiving, the Romneys of the world win. Stop financial terrorism!!!
I stay as far away from the malls and big box stores as possible on Black Fridays and have no desire to shop on Thanksgiving Day.
The older you get the less it means. I just hit the atm on the 24th and stop at cvs for some money cards and call it a day.
I’m sure some idiot radio station is playing Xmas tunes right now
If stores get a sniff that people will shop on the holiday, they’ll open on the holiday. The only way to prevent it is to not shop during those times.
yes!!! Kmart should not be allowed to be open, other stores should not open till 5am on black friday. This midnight and earlier thing is crazy and silly.
My second job is in retail at Valley View Mall and I actually look forward to working on Black Friday each year. I know that my store which is not one of the major department stores will be opening at midnight this year. This is hands down the most profitable day of the year for most stores and the stores will continue to open as long as the demand is there. You know when you sign up to work retail that the hours are gonna be crazy during the holidays! If you don’t like it than don’t come out shopping and don’t take the parking spaces of those that enjoy working and shopping this day!!
It’s nice to have a drug store or grocery store open on Thanksgiving just in case, but Christmas shopping? Forget it. It should be off-limits. Wonder why the store employees are tired and grumpy? Maybe because the store doesn’t treat them well – like making them work Thanksgiving. I’ve given up on Black Friday as well – the stores assume people will be out and offer deals just good enough to lure them from one store to another.
I think that Stores should not open on Thanksgiving Day. I don’t support the Black Friday sales. There are very few days that a person can spend time with family. As far as I am concerned we should go back to closing on Sundays. The Blue Law was not that bad. With stores being open 24 hours there is no good reason that they have to shop on Sunday. People need time for family.
Capitalism at its finest. Like Kristen said if the company crunches the numbers and feel they can make money they will open. If you don’t like it stay home and don’t shop; however there are plenty that will and there for stores will be open.
Tricia, maybe if you’re lucky, you can get to work a double shift on Thanksgiving night/Black Friday morning, like a few of my friends in retail. They’re always so excited about Thanksgiving, because they’re required to go in at 11:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening and work straight through until 6 p.m. on Black Friday. Yeah, good times for them. I’ll have to remind them to not park too closely to the store, because somebody might need to save 20 seconds in rushing to get into line at 2:00 a.m. to buy a toaster oven at 50% off retail.
Yeah, those are the moments you like to share with your children…
Let’s face it, we(myself included) have spoiled our children. Children in the U.S. don’t know what it is like to not get what they want. Parents are willing to get in line at Toysrus and Walmart in the middle of the night on Thanksgiving to get their kids the latest and greatest $100 toy. Too bad our kids can’t be more appreciative like the ones Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia, who are just happy to get a pack of pencils for Christmas so that they can do their school work.
I have always enjoyed shopping Black Friday. However, this year I have seen where some stores are starting at 8pm on Thanksgiving. I do think that is a little early. I will not be going to the stores at 8pm, I will go after dinner and time with my family and if what I want is still there great, if not, no big deal it’s not worth losing the family time. I hope this is not the trend this year. Sales starting at Midnight do not bother me, it is Black Friday then.
And Tricia, I appreciate your attitude towards working Black Friday. It’s the sales people like you that keep it fun and light hearted.
Four words-No way in h@ll. I stay at home. I have already done with little Christmas shopping I do. I don’t celebrate Christmas with mass commercialism and consumer debt. In fact after the first of November, I don’t even go shopping or to a mall.
Black Friday fun & light hearted? That is pretty funny. There’s not been one in the last decade that doesn’t result in everything from extremely rude behavior in almost every store to physical violence in some stores.
Again, all those eager to save a little on something they could have bought the prior weekend seem to be ignoring the burden placed on the retail employees. Fun & lighthearted – 2:00 a.m. standing in line, then literally running to grab some item before someone can wrest it from you. Yeah, fun & light-hearted. Those are the quality memories that retail employees now get to ‘enjoy’ with their families. or not.
Thanksgiving should definitely be off limits in my opinion. The holidays should be about being with your family, not camping out in some store parking lot to try and get a deal on some stupid trinket. If people would just stay home with their families and actually enjoy their holiday, then these greedy corporations like Toys R Us and Wal-Mart wouldn’t keep opening earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving. Do you realize that the employees of these companies are people with families too, and can’t even enjoy what should be a nice day with their loved ones? And that most of them aren’t even compensated for working on a holiday? I think that the greedy corporate pigs who run these companies should all have to come in and work a shift in the stores on Thanksgiving, since they’re the only ones who benefit from it. Let them deal with the screaming, swearing, fistfights, threats, having things thrown at them when you run out of sale items,and just the generally nasty people that Thanksgiving/Black Friday seems to attract (you know who you are) Obviously, I am speaking from experience, and no, I’m not exaggerating. So please, people, if you must shop on Thanksgiving, please keep in mind that the employees in the stores are human beings,too. They are mothers, fathers, children, etc. who have been pulled away from their families so that you can come out and buy “stuff”. They are probably working 10-12 hour shifts, on their feet, often without a lunch or bathroom break in a very stressful situation. And don’t tell me that they knew what they were getting into when they were hired, because no one should have to put up with that crap. (That’s probably why there’s always a few that just end up walking out) Anyway, if you’re out shopping that day, please remember to be nice to those that gave up their holiday so that you could shop. Happy Thanksgiving.
How much greed do you need, when is it enough?
I’d rather see election declared a federal day off so a majority of the employed would be off. (But then again, all the retailers would have sales; therefore everybody would be working or shopping. I guess it’sa no win win situation.
sure enough,,,,,,, on November 10th Sunny FM 93.5 playing christmas carols!!!!!!!! Bah Humbug
Thanksgiving should be off limits! I know that from working there the associates do NOT get to enjoy the holidays with their families. Take this Thanksgiving holiday season for example, the associates will be working the weekend prior to Thanksgiving as well as a 12-14 hour shift that will start on Thanksgiving day and run them all night into Black Friday!! I have news people… all of those “deals” will still be there until the merchandise is sold. Trust me, this is merchandise that the stores only carry for those “Black Friday deals”. Plus, the way that the merchandise is shipped in, while the trucks are being unloaded… these items are tossed like water balloons just so that there will be less “blitz” merchandise to get stuck with. I think that someone needs to take a stand and make Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day OFF limits. Let the associates/employees in the retail stores have the chance to spend the same time with their families, as you and I have. So please, if you are going to participate in the insane “Black Friday” sales that start on Thanksgiving, make sure that you show those who are working to help you some compassion and thank them for being there. I know that I will NOT be spending my holiday away from my family just to save a dollar or two.
Thanksgiving Day SHOULD be off limits. Sales people need to be home with their family on Thanksgiving and so should the consumers.
I will not shop on Thanksgiving and definietly do not get up at the crack of dawn on Black Friday. If you are requiring workers to come in on a holiday, they should at least get double overtime. But I think stores can close for the day.
Walmart just announced that they will be opening at 8pm on Thanksgiving, as will Toysrus. Target will be opening at 9pm. So much for Black Friday.
@Jeffrey: I saw that. Interesting, too, is that many stores, like Target, are opening on Thanksgiving but having additional sales early Friday morning.