We're seeing more retailers hang up their "Closed" sign on Thanksgiving Day this year than ever before. And shoppers can expect even more stores to announce that they're shutting down shop on Turkey Day.
"[So far] it's been confirmed that [45] stores that will be closing on Thanksgiving, including some big retailers like Staples, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Nordstrom, and REI," said Brent Shelton, online shopping expert at FatWallet. "We expect about a dozen more to follow suit."
We saw quite a few retailers closed for the holiday in 2015, but Shelton notes that we're seeing some new retailers join the party this year.
"Stores closing this year that were not in the list last year include: American Girl, Blain’s Farm & Fleet, hhgregg, Mall of America, Mills Fleet Farm, Nordstrom Rack, and Outdoor Research."
Here's the full list of retailers that won't be open, and check back regularly to see who we've added:
- Academy Sports
- A.C. Moore
- American Girl
- AT&T (Customer Service + Select Retail Locations)
- Barnes & Noble
- Bed Bath & Beyond (Select Locations)
- BJ's Wholesale Club
- Blain's Farm & Fleet
- Burlington
- Cabela's
- Campmor
- Christmas Tree Shops (Select Locations)
- Christopher & Banks
- Costco
- Craft Warehouse
- Crate and Barrel
- Dillard's
- DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse
- Fred Meyer
- Gamestop
- Guitar Center
- Half Price Books
- Harbor Freight
- HEB Stores
- HHGregg
- Hobby Lobby
- Home Depot
- HomeGoods
- IKEA
- Jo-Ann Fabrics
- Lowe's
- Mall of America (Subject to Individual Store Changes)
- Marshalls
- Mattress Firm
- Menards
- Mills Fleet Farm
- Neiman Marcus
- Nordstrom
- Nordstrom Rack
- Office Max / Office Depot
- P.C. Richard & Son
- Patagonia
- Petco
- PetSmart
- Pet Supplies Plus
- Pier 1 Imports
- Publix
- Raymour & Flanigan
- REI
- Sam's Club
- Sierra Trading Post
- Sportsman Warehouse
- Staples
- The Container Store
- T.J. Maxx
- Tractor Supply
The reasoning for closing on Thanksgiving is primarily to benefit employees, who not only may want the day off to be with family, but also to rest up in advance for the year's biggest retail holiday: Black Friday.
"Because Black Friday is such a popular shopping day, Thanksgiving gives employees a break before the big rush," said Lisa Disselkamp, head of HR at Deloitte. "Retailers can use the closure to promote that they are enabling their workers more time off to spend with their families. If employers pay employees on Thanksgiving during their closure, this may also generate stronger employee loyalty and engagement to the organization."
Related: This Year It's More Like 'Black November'
Shoppers who've planned to visit store on Thanksgiving may be bummed out to find that it's closed, but in a sense, the act of shutting down business on a national holiday looks to benefit them, too — and increase their loyalty.
"The retailer is building good will, good faith, and a stronger brand among customers," said Mihaela Akers, whose experience includes customer intelligence at Ralph Lauren. "Closing stores for Thanksgiving shows that the retailer is adhering to strong family values, which quickly draws people with similar values."
There are those consumers who shop on Thanksgiving because they want to seize Black Friday deals the moment they begin. Courtney Jespersen, shopping and retail expert at NerdWallet, finds that most retailers offering Black Friday sales will extend them through the entire weekend, so there's really no need to rush.
"There might be this idea of 'the early bird gets the worm' but most stores offer Black Friday deals throughout the entire weekend, plus Cyber Monday," said Jespersen.
Shoppers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine should just as well stay in on Turkey Day altogether, as Shelton notes that state laws there "require stores to be closed on Thanksgiving, which means stores open nationally on Thanksgiving [such as] Walmart and Best Buy, will have to close in those three states."
If your favorite store is closed on Thanksgiving, you can almost certainly do your shopping from home thanks to the Internet.
"While the physical doors may be closed on Thanksgiving, nearly all of these retailers offer online deals so you can shop right from home," said Jespersen.
Now we've got no excuse to ditch our fams on Turkey Day!