This year, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy are among a group of retail super villains who have decided it’s appropriate to begin the Black Friday shopping nightmare on Thanksgiving Day, with some opening as early as 5pm on Thursday.
As someone who has only had the misfortune of working the retail tornado of Black Friday once, I would never wish it upon anyone. Yet many stores feel pressured to begin the doorbusters earlier every year.
To compete with online shopping, brick-and-mortar retailers implement drastic measures to get customers in stores during the discount season.
Last year, eMarketer reported internet users in their survey were likelier to shop online during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This comes as no surprise to anyone who’s been watching retail stores crumble as online shopping continues to dominate the market.
To lure in shoppers, physical stores must come up with deals so alluring that people would kill for them.
Literally. I just googled “did anyone die on Black Friday last year” and found out that there’s a handy site called Black Friday Death Count. The answer is yes, some people died last year in Black Friday-related incidents, and in fact two of the three deaths took place at separate Walmarts.
So that makes this year’s disturbingly early foray into deal hunting even less enticing.
While I don’t hold Thanksgiving sacred by any means, moving the even unholier Black Friday back to impede on a holiday is ludicrous. But a handful of heroes are saying no seriously guys, we’re not doing this.
Over fifty retailers are collectively putting their foot down, and will remain closed on Thanksgiving Day. While some may still be party to next-day discounts, they’re at least taking a stand.
Here’s a list of all the places you can’t go on Thanksgiving, because mercifully they’re closed:
- A.C. Moore
- Abt Electronics
- Academy Sports + Outdoors
- At Home
- BJ’s Wholesale Club
- Blain’s Farm and Fleet
- Burlington
- Cabela’s
- Cost Plus World Market
- Costco
- Craft Warehouse
- Crate and Barrel
- DSW – Designer Shoe Warehouse
- Ethan Allen
- Gardner-White Furniture
- Guitar Center
- H&M
- Half Price Books
- Harbor Freight
- Hobby Lobby
- Home Depot
- HomeGoods
- Homesense
- IKEA
- JOANN Fabric and Craft Stores
- Jos. A. Bank
- La-Z-Boy (all corporately owned stores)
- Lowe’s
- Marshalls
- Mattress Firm
- Micro Center
- Music & Arts
- Neiman Marcus
- Office Depot and OfficeMax
- Outdoor Research (closed Black Friday too)
- P.C. Richard & Son
- Party City
- Patagonia
- Petco
- PetSmart
- Pier 1 Imports
- Publix
- Raymour & Flanigan Furniture
- Sam’s Club
- Sierra Trading Post
- Sportsman’s Warehouse
- Sprint (Corporate & Dealer Owned Stores; Mall Kiosks May Open)
- Staples
- Sur La Table
- The Container Store
- The Original Mattress Factory
- TJ Maxx
- Tractor Supply
- Trollbeads
- Von Maur
- West Marine
And while that’s a pretty hefty list, the fact remains that many unfortunate employees will have to show up to work on Thanksgiving when they should be taking naps, or avoiding helping their family clean up after lunch.
Thinking about some retailers’ decision to open a day early for Black Friday almost makes Cards Against Humanity’s crowdfunded hole stunt last year seem reasonable. Maybe if we’re lucky, the tradition of Black Friday will get sucked up in a black hole, never to plague us again.
I guess staying home is also an option. If you opt into the shopping this year, stay safe. And if you choose to do so on Thanksgiving, maybe just don’t tell anyone.
