Macy’s to Open Even Earlier on Thanksgiving Day

Macy’s is breaking from a growing pack of retailers that have proudly declared their brick-and-mortar stores will not open on Thanksgiving Day this year.

Not only will the department store chain again open on Thanksgiving for early Black Friday shopping, it will do so one hour earlier than last Thanksgiving, the Associated Press reports.

Stores will welcome early bird deal-seekers at 5 p.m. on Nov. 24. Most stores will then stay open until 2 a.m. and reopen four hours later at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.

This change follows six consecutive quarters of declines at Macy’s for a key revenue measure, which has put the retailer under pressure to perform financially, according to the AP report.

Despite such pressure, Macy’s tells the AP that it’s working to staff Thanksgiving Day with employees who volunteer to come in to work on the holiday:

“Doing so means that our employees are able to make their own decisions about how they contribute to our most important and busiest weekend of the year.”

The growing group of retailers that will not open on Thanksgiving — which includes Macy’s competitor Nordstrom — has also cited consideration of employee needs and desires as the motivation behind staying closed on the holiday.

Consumer electronics chain hhgregg, for example, is one of those retailers that will remain closed this Thanksgiving after having opened for at least a few hours on that holiday in previous years.

Bob Riesbeck, president and chief executive of hhgregg, explained:

“It’s important to us that our associates are able to be home with their families on Thanksgiving, and we are encouraging our customers to do the same …”

Even the nation’s largest shopping center, Mall of America, will remain closed this Thanksgiving.

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