Target to Close its Stores Every Thanksgiving

[Henry]

IMHO, that's the way it should be. Target says that starting this year, its stores will no longer be open on Thanksgiving Day:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/22/target-will-keep-stores-closed-on-thanksgiving-for-good.html

[Max Rockatansky]

On base we are actually opening the PX at 7 AM on Friday.  Online retail coupled with the pandemic really made things like being open on Thanksgiving look like the shit show it really was.  If a big retailer is retreating from being open Thanksgivings then the others will probably follow the example shortly.  From what I recall it started as a desperation tactic from Sears-Kmart. 

As an aside Black Friday is really in a huge decline.  The year before he pandemic we barely did over half a million in sales.  A similar size store a decade ago would have easily done $1.2-1.5 million on Black Friday.  Retailers can sell through the huge discounts and labor hours on Black Friday like they once could given online is clearly superior option.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

IMHO, that's the way it should be. Target says that starting this year, its stores will no longer be open on Thanksgiving Day:

It was a dumb trend that unfortunately only started because people were actually getting killed in crowd crushes on traditional Black Friday. Millions and millions of people still flooded into stores on Thanksgiving night anyway, so that incentivized stores to expand Thanksgiving night hours.

It's funny how retail workers suddenly became "essential" in the minds of people who spit on them for the purpose of getting a new TV on Thanksgiving night.

[SectorZ]

On base we are actually opening the PX at 7 AM on Friday.  Online retail coupled with the pandemic really made things like being open on Thanksgiving look like the shit show it really was.  If a big retailer is retreating from being open Thanksgivings then the others will probably follow the example shortly.  From what I recall it started as a desperation tactic from Sears-Kmart. 

As an aside Black Friday is really in a huge decline.  The year before he pandemic we barely did over half a million in sales.  A similar size store a decade ago would have easily done $1.2-1.5 million on Black Friday.  Retailers can sell through the huge discounts and labor hours on Black Friday like they once could given online is clearly superior option.

Regarding Sears/Kmart, there was a Sears in Wethersfield CT that used to be open on Thanksgiving as far back as the late-80's (long before their merger). I bet there were others.

[Scott5114]

I'm trying out not even doing a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale this year.  We'll see how that goes. I'm making enough non-retail revenue at the moment that I can afford to experiment with the retail stuff.

[ET21]

Good, that's how it should be every year. Looks like at least Target will continue this going forward

[jeffandnicole]

IMHO, that's the way it should be. Target says that starting this year, its stores will no longer be open on Thanksgiving Day:

It was a dumb trend that unfortunately only started because people were actually getting killed in crowd crushes on traditional Black Friday. Millions and millions of people still flooded into stores on Thanksgiving night anyway, so that incentivized stores to expand Thanksgiving night hours.

Yep. Even though many people complained about the practice, there was just as many, if not more, people that choose to go out to the stores.

I suspect that some of the rationale this year keeping the stores closed is just dealing with the manpower to operate a store. In an environment where sufficient staffing is already tough to maintain, understaffed stores on a big shopping day where consumers have no attitude boundaries would have been a disaster.

[JayhawkCO]

IMHO, that's the way it should be. Target says that starting this year, its stores will no longer be open on Thanksgiving Day:

It was a dumb trend that unfortunately only started because people were actually getting killed in crowd crushes on traditional Black Friday. Millions and millions of people still flooded into stores on Thanksgiving night anyway, so that incentivized stores to expand Thanksgiving night hours.

Yep. Even though many people complained about the practice, there was just as many, if not more, people that choose to go out to the stores.

I suspect that some of the rationale this year keeping the stores closed is just dealing with the manpower to operate a store. In an environment where sufficient staffing is already tough to maintain, understaffed stores on a big shopping day where consumers have no attitude boundaries would have been a disaster.

It's not just that.  Retail is having a hell of a time keeping their employees to start with.  Forcing them to work on a holiday when they'd rather be with their families is a quick way to have them looking elsewhere.

[Max Rockatansky]

IMHO, that's the way it should be. Target says that starting this year, its stores will no longer be open on Thanksgiving Day:

It was a dumb trend that unfortunately only started because people were actually getting killed in crowd crushes on traditional Black Friday. Millions and millions of people still flooded into stores on Thanksgiving night anyway, so that incentivized stores to expand Thanksgiving night hours.

Yep. Even though many people complained about the practice, there was just as many, if not more, people that choose to go out to the stores.

I suspect that some of the rationale this year keeping the stores closed is just dealing with the manpower to operate a store. In an environment where sufficient staffing is already tough to maintain, understaffed stores on a big shopping day where consumers have no attitude boundaries would have been a disaster.

It's not just that.  Retail is having a hell of a time keeping their employees to start with.  Forcing them to work on a holiday when they'd rather be with their families is a quick way to have them looking elsewhere.

I'm not sure how well known this is but the turnover rate for an average retail store is 40-60%.  Most of the jobs are entry level and there isn't a whole of incentive to stay unless you are some form of management or needing basic health care.  Most retailers no longer offer things like pensions or even guaranteed pay increases.  This tends to bounce managers around given it's easier to get a pay boost by more or less acting like a mercenary jumping companies.  All of that is even before you get into things like having to deal with Black Friday nonsense or difficulties brought on last year because of COVID restrictions.

[JayhawkCO]

IMHO, that's the way it should be. Target says that starting this year, its stores will no longer be open on Thanksgiving Day:

It was a dumb trend that unfortunately only started because people were actually getting killed in crowd crushes on traditional Black Friday. Millions and millions of people still flooded into stores on Thanksgiving night anyway, so that incentivized stores to expand Thanksgiving night hours.

Yep. Even though many people complained about the practice, there was just as many, if not more, people that choose to go out to the stores.

I suspect that some of the rationale this year keeping the stores closed is just dealing with the manpower to operate a store. In an environment where sufficient staffing is already tough to maintain, understaffed stores on a big shopping day where consumers have no attitude boundaries would have been a disaster.

It's not just that.  Retail is having a hell of a time keeping their employees to start with.  Forcing them to work on a holiday when they'd rather be with their families is a quick way to have them looking elsewhere.

I'm not sure how well known this is but the turnover rate for an average retail store is 40-60%.  Most of the jobs are entry level and there isn't a whole of incentive to stay unless you are some form of management or needing basic health care.  Most retailers no longer offer things like pensions or even guaranteed pay increases.  This tends to bounce managers around given it's easier to get a pay boost by more or less acting like a mercenary jumping companies.  All of that is even before you get into things like having to deal with Black Friday nonsense or difficulties brought on last year because of COVID restrictions.

Trust me.  I was a restaurant GM for the past ten years.  Average restaurant turnover is something like 125% for hourlies and 75% for management.  I tried to calculate my retention rate during my tenure, and I know at least at one spot, I only turned over 30% of hourly employees yearly.  Granted, I worked on the high end of the restaurant spectrum, but I was always proud of that.  Managers in the company I worked for, however, had a turnover rate of 150%.  Hence I no longer work for that company.  They worked you to the bone and then asked for your marrow.