For many small stores, no choice but to be open on Thanksgiving

Today, as most Americans sit down for their turkey feast, some are heading to the stores. The online shopping revolution eventually shipped Black Friday across the Atlantic, where year on year, United Kingdom retailers enthusiastically embraced Black Friday, becoming more widespread as more retailers joined in.

Some big retailers face scrutiny for opening on Thanksgiving, but many small stores have no choice.

Boscov’s stores will open on Thanksgiving from 6 p.m.to 1 a.m. and reopen on Black Friday from 6 a.m.to 10 p.m.

Last year, Town Center’s parking lot reached 95 percent capacity just two hours after opening its doors at 6 p.m. Instead of waiting until the crack of dawn for Black Friday sales, shoppers are flocking to the aisles early, a trend known as “Black Friday Creep”.

Debbie Kuykendall said that for many people it’s nice to have a store open in case they forget something.

“Thanksgiving is one of the few days per year when we are all given an opportunity to pause our busy lives and enjoy the company of our family and friends”. She hid it well, but I could tell she was a little bummed she had to work on Thanksgiving.

No, Black Friday doesn’t drive the same whip-crack sales spike it did in the early 2000s.

Though most national chains are remaining closed throughout the day, stores like Wal-Mart, Target, J.C. Penney, Best Buy and Sears are opening their doors to customers Thanksgiving afternoon. The store will remain open until midnight local time, then reopen on Black Friday. Who really likes shivering in front a store in the wee hours of the morning?

“Our strategy to close at 1 a.m. and reopen at 8 a.m. on Black Friday is to replenish our inventory”, said Best Buy spokeswoman Laura Rother. Still, 41 percent of shoppers plan to make the trek to stores on Black Friday, while 15 percent plan to on Thanksgiving, according to a survey by the International Council of Shopping Centers. Eight employees will be working, and if this Thanksgiving is like last year’s holiday, they’ll have their hands full.

Several people said on Facebook that no matter who stays open they won’t be shopping on Thanksgiving.

Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay said the importance of Thanksgiving weekend to both retailers and consumers will never change. Based on public statements made by major retailers, 24/7 Wall St. identified the companies opening stores on Thanksgiving Day.

But, Mayr Malool defended the right of stores to open Thanksgiving.