Kmart announced Tuesday that it would be opening its doors at an unprecedented 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The fledgling retailer beat out its competitors as other stores – Sears, J.C. Penney and Macy’s – decided to open up in the early evening part of Thanksgiving.
This trend of opening earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving is known as the “Gray Thursday” or “holiday creep.” Companies are being blamed for ruining Thanksgiving by selling products at a time when families should be together eating turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. They’re also being blamed by “forcing” their employees to work on a holiday.
Here’s the thing: retailers are only opening their doors on Thanksgiving because there’s a demand for it. As an example, store traffic during last year’s Thanksgiving rose 27 percent, suggesting that consumers are actually responding to the store hours. If customers didn’t want to shop on Thanksgiving then stores wouldn’t open.
Indeed, it is sad that a person would rather buy a microwave oven or a television then spend time with their loved ones. With that being said, it’s all about a person’s priorities and what they value. If they prefer to save 20 percent on a toaster then that’s their decision; Wal-Mart and Sears are only answering to this demand.
Perhaps Costco, Barnes & Noble, Sam’s Club, Home Depot, Nordstrom, TJ Maxx and Marshall’s are doing the right thing by not turning on the lights on Thanksgiving. Who knows?
Furthermore, consumers should be downright enraged about all of the other businesses open on Thanksgiving: NFL, NBA, movie theaters, restaurants, convenience stores and the list goes on. People are likely complaining because of their general disdain for corporations and their so-called one percent CEOs.
Hypocrisy.
Well, what about the employees? A lot of the time, management give employees the option to work Thanksgiving, and a good portion of them would agree to it because of the incentive pay, bonuses and perks (think Wal-Mart’s 25 percent discount on total bill). Also, no one is forcing the employee to be working for such an “evil” employer in the first place.
We should be living in a voluntary society: if a business wants to work on a holiday then that’s their decision. If an employee wants to work on a holiday then that’s their decision. If a consumer wants to shop on a holiday then that’s their decision.
It is rather confusing why someone would rather shop then sit at home and catch up with family members over a drumstick. Thanksgiving is the greatest holiday of the year so why waste it at a shopping mall with consumers walking around like zombies? Who are we to judge?
Here’s one thing, though: will shoppers on Thanksgiving be less aggressive than on Black Friday? Doubtful.
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