As transportation and logistics providers gear up for the holiday season, more retailers are announcing they will not open on Thanksgiving.
“With Black Friday and Thanksgiving foot traffic slowly decreasing and online sales booming, many stores find it unnecessary to open their doors on Turkey Day,” said BestBlackFriday.com, which now lists nearly 100 national and regional retailers that will be closed Nov. 22.
Among the major retailers that have announced they will not open on Thanksgiving are Academy Sports, Crate and Barrel, The Home Depot, IKEA and Lowe’s.
But many major retailers can’t afford to be closed on Thanksgiving, according to BestBlackFriday.com.
“Despite Thanksgiving foot traffic slowly declining, the number of Americans who frequent stores on that day is still extremely high, which means the big boys, including Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Macy’s and Kohl’s, will all likely stay open,” it said.
BestBlackFriday.com cited Adobe, which reported shoppers spent $2.87 billion online on Thanksgiving last year, 18.3 percent more than the year before.
The website also pointed to ShopperTrak, which said Thanksgiving foot traffic was down last year. “As ShopperTrak notes, shoppers are realizing they do not have to shop in-store on Thanksgiving to get the absolute lowest prices. Instead, they are purchasing online or shopping in-store on Black Friday or during Thanksgiving weekend.”