Retailers to Open on Thanksgiving in Advance of Black Friday

Will you shop sales on Thanksgiving this year?

Retailers are already announcing their pre-Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales. But this year offers something new in the world of retail….more stores announcing that they will open on Thanksgiving day. Seriously. How many of you are itching to leave your house after a delicious feast with friends and family, rouse your self from a tryptophan coma and head out to the mail?  So what stores are open on Thanksgiving 2013?

Kohl’s, Target, Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Walmart, Kmart, and  ToysRUs have all announced that they are going to open up on Thanksgiving day 2013.   Kohl’s  and Target will open at 8 pm on Thanksgiving and Walmart will open at 6 pm.  ToysRUs will open even earlier at 5 pm.

Macy’s and J.C .Penney are new entrants to this group of stores open on Thanksgiving Day. “Last year, we opened much later than the competition and our stores saw a lot of frustrated customers tap our doors wanting to shop, ” notes Daphne Avila, a spokesperson for J.C. Penny. ” This year, we decided we weren’t going to let those opportunities pass us by.”  Really?

Macy’s has also decided to open their doors on Thanksgiving and issued a press release to explain their reasoning.  It seems many retailers don’t want to miss out on the potential earnings.

So what retailers are  not opening on Thanksgiving and letting their employees enjoy the holiday? So far Nordstrom and Costco have no plans to open on Thanksgiving. That decision may be a good one in terms of public relations.  Check out the new Facebook group protesting retailers plans to open on Thanksgiving.  There are already over 45,000 members of the new “Say No To Shopping on Thanksgiving.”  After all, Thanksgiving isn’t the only time you’ll be able to shop stores to get deals.  A survey from Shopping.com shows that there will be plenty of opportunities to save as we get closer to holiday time.  Retailers will continually discount merchandise, especially during the week before Christmas.

What do you think readers? Will you shop on Thanksgiving at the stores or pass?