As Thanksgiving rolls around, eager shoppers jump at the abundance of Black Friday sales. Last year, Black Friday was taken to a whole new level when a variety of stores began opening on Thanksgiving Day instead of in the wee hours of a tryptophan-addled night. Macy’s and Wal-Mart lead the way by opening just after Thanksgiving dinner that Thursday. Not to be outcompeted, many other retailers jumped on the bandwagon and opened that evening as well, hoping to cash in on zealous customers that wanted to feel the rush of the “Black Thursday” hype. This year is no different. Wal-Mart announced it will stay open all Thanksgiving day and Macy’s will open at 6 PM, two hours earlier than last year. Other stores such as Kohl’s and Staples have also announced they will be opening the day of Thanksgiving as well. In contrast, many stores, including Costco, Nordstrom, GameStop, Dillard’s, REI and all TJX stores, made announcements that they will remain closed all Thanksgiving Day. While many of these companies were closed last year as well, the key difference is that this year companies that choose to remain closed are being lauded for appreciating their employees and treating them like humans who have personal lives and families. Last year, the likes of Wal-Mart and Macy’s were viewed as progressive; they were capitalist pioneers for pushing the boundaries of Black Friday. This year, truly progressive companies have taken a step back from sales and a step towards morality by acknowledging their workers are people, and Americans are taking notice.
In just one year, the public’s attitude shifted from that of an enthusiastic patron to that of a critical observer. This issue of opening hours on Thanksgiving falls into the category of workers’ rights and only capstones other recent shifts in outlooks towards the minimum wage and equal pay for equal work. Instead of praising companies for allowing greater access to, and opportunities for, sales, the American public is beginning to recognize that access and opportunity belong with workers, not corporations. In a recent poll, more than 80 percent of people surveyed said that retailers should not be open at all on Thanksgiving and only four percent wanted stores to be open as early as possible. This reflects the importance of relaxation and family to the American people and stresses the need for a national holiday to be a holiday for all. Still, some workers appreciate the opportunity to work on holidays for extra overtime and holiday pay, but companies like Nordstrom and GameStop recognize that their employees are people. Treating their employees as such reflects positively on their companies and benefits society as a whole. The fact that these companies have been praised for their kind gestures, instead of criticized for not being open means that people are beginning to be ready to accept these kinds of larger changes to the economy.
Macy’s also indicated this change in public attitude through their respective press releases for last year and this year. In 2013, Macy’s helped forge the advent of Black Thursday by excitedly announcing its hours and the opportunities for wonderful sales after a nice Thanksgiving dinner. But this year, Macy’s did not have such an enthusiastic tone and seemed to only want to open at 6 PM because of consumer interest. This reluctance and transferal of blame shows that Macy’s can sense the tide shifting.
On a more business side, many experts have cast doubt on the idea of Black Thursday at all, thinking it may cannibalize sales for Friday. Last year, Black Friday sales indeed flopped, while Cyber Monday sales soared. When other companies are beginning to open on Thursday, individual companies are hard pressed to remain closed; Potential sales would be stolen by other corporations before their hours even began. Still, even in the face of Friday’s increasingly scarce interest, some companies have found a way to enable their employees to remain at home for the entire holiday instead of incentivizing them to work and leave their families.
Ultimately, a palpable shift in the American people towards workers’ rights has manifested, resulting in a stigma for companies open on Thanksgiving and a respect for companies remaining closed. While companies like Macy’s and Wal-Mart cause millions of workers to cut their holidays short, companies like Costco and Marshalls have decided to ride the wave of equality and morality by saying their employees in fact deserve to have the whole day off. This change in attitude may augur positive change in the form of minimum wage increases or equal pay legislation, but, in the interim, companies that choose to remain closed this Thanksgiving deserve applause for spearheading the effort to treat workers as human beings.
Image Credit: JoeInQueens from Queens, USA, Black Friday at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, New York City, 2011, CC BY 2.0