POLL: Should Stores Be Open on Thanksgiving?

Brown Thursday is the new Black Friday.

Last year, I was pretty brazen about my feelings toward stores opening on Thanksgiving. So much so, I wrote a post entitled “Why We’re Pissed Stores are Opening on Thanksgiving” (ya know, feelings) in response to a Change.org petition that began circulating to close Target on Thanksgiving. Then today, I received one rallying for Macy’s to close its doors this Thanksgiving, and all that rage started bubbling to the surface again.

First, I called the Macy’s in Center City to confirm that the department store would actually be open on Thanksgiving. The answer: yes, they’re opening at 9am and will be open through Black Friday. As in, they’re literally not closing. I could almost hear the disappointment in the sales associate’s voice when she relayed this.

Look, I think stores opening on Thanksgiving is wrong. We already have Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. Can’t we be happy with those three sales-laden days? Must we infringe upon a holiday that already exists for being thankful for what we already have? But of course, not everyone agrees with me and the 114,058 Target petition supporters, or the 42,156 Macy’s supporters. I learned from the comment section and social media responses from the post last year that some people are totally okay with stores opening on Thanksgiving. Some even—shudder—look forward to it.

So, I have to ask: am I just being an idealistic curmudgeon?

 

POLL: Should Stores Be Open on Thanksgiving?