Retailers seem bent on falling over each other to see who can have the earliest ever "Black Friday" opening this year, and now there's a new leader: Toys "R" Us will open its doors at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
Black Friday, traditionally the blockbuster shopping day after Thanksgiving, has been pushed earlier and earlier this year, finally biting firmly into Thanksgiving day. Best Buy, Macy's, Target and Kohl's all abandoned traditional 4 a.m. Friday openings earlier this month, and announced they'll open their doors right at midnight on Nov. 25.
Wal-Mart, the country's largest retailer, announced it would start offering doorbuster deals at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving, even earlier than the other stores. Gap, Inc. said about 1,000 of their Banana Republic, Old Navy, Gap and outlet stores would simply stay open on Thanksgiving, as they did last year.
Toys "R" Us had opened at 10 p.m. last year. Company officials said the decision was made with customers in mind.
Black Friday is truly the kickoff to the holiday shopping season, and we’re excited to welcome customers at Toys“R”Us stores across the country for what has become an annual tradition for many families after Thanksgiving dinner is finished," said chief marketing officer Greg Ahearn, in a statement.
Retailers are competing for every dollar this holiday season, at a time when the economy is shaky and holiday spending is forecast to rise somewhere around 2 to 3 percent, about half of last year's increase.
There may be backlash building, however. Despite the stores' insistence that customers like the earlier hours, emails and phone calls I've gotten certainly indicate a lot of consumers are fed up with Black Friday creep. And some retail employees, like this gentleman who's starting a petition against Target, are also saying enough is enough.
What do you think?
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Toys 'R' Us to open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving
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12 comments:
I'm waiting for a retailer to promote that they are going be open the week before Black Friday.
I dislike ALL of the extended "holiday shopping" periods, and the Christmas season is certainly the worst. Two weeks seems ideal, three weeks the maximum, during which we should be inundated with so-called holiday messages, including the inevitable sales.
Obviously, though, I am in the minority. Were it not the case that people responded positively, merchants simply wouldn't do it. If no one bought Christmas decor in October, Target and Walmsrt wouldn't take up floor space with it. The same is true of all the the seasonal items. Overall, the marketplace responds rationally, and since it is voluntary in nature, that means that it provides, by and large, what people reward with the it patronage. I may not like it, but nothing is more democratic than the marketplace, and so it goes. . .
Finally as to the matter of Target (and other companies') employees having to work on holidays, that is hardly an experience that is too horrible to contemplate, in spite of their rhetoric in the petition. Many, many industries and companies, and may government departments are open with employees working 365 days per year. Indeed the newspaper in which this appears publishes a full newspaper every single day that requires some employees to work on holidays including Thanksgiving.
Actually, Old Navy has been open Thanksgiving Day for 3 years now. They open at 9am and don't close until 8pm.
I work in retail and we are unable to take any vacation time in Nov or Dec. I look forward to the two days that the stores are closed to spend time with my family. Every year that time is shortened. We have gone from Thanksgiving dinner to lunch. I have to be at work @ 10:30 Thanksgiving night. Grateful for the job, but retail has taken a toll on me and my family. Time for a new job.
Will there be any places open Thursday night where I can get a good meatball sandwich?
I work in retail also and am beginning to dislike the holiday rush. The retail company i work for has cut labor and demanded more work for such a small staff.
I was at SouthPark Mall yesterday and they were blasting the Christmas music. I am sick of Christmas music already. I told a Belk employee to have a Merry Christmas. She replied, "it's not Christmas yet!" and I told her it sure seems like it at SouthPark.
Left retail (most recently a big box electronics/appliance chain) six months ago. Opened at 5am last Black Friday, this year I see they're opening at midnight. CEO's press release thanks the employees for their "support," but all those I know say it was not up to a vote. Glad I got out when I did. Ridiculous.
Why don't these greedy merchants stop pussyfootin' around and just stay open 24/7 from the day after Thanksgiving until December 23? Squeeze every last penny out of Christmas they can. I don't even want to know how much more insensitive to their employees they can be.
ba humbug
Heck, Next thing you know Wal-Mart will create and open a make-shift family resturant inside the store for thanksgiving, that way you can have Thanksgiving dinner with your family inside the store and then everybody go shop for Christmas after supper, yippee! Good grief, LMAO!
The stores are opening closer and closer to Thanksgiving. I like the comment about having Thanksgiving dinner in the store and then go straight to shopping after.
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