Increasing Number Of Stores Opening On Thanksgiving Day
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) –- More stores this year are jumping on the trend to not wait until Black Friday to open their stores with great deals and opting to open on Thanksgiving instead.
It's a controversy some are calling un-American.
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By all the Holiday displays put in in various South Florida malls, you may think it's Christmas but where did Thanksgiving go?
For retailers it is indeed the happiest time of the year so why not jump start Christmas and bump up Black Friday by a day?
Stores are getting in shape for early crowds and some shoppers think it's great.
"I think it eliminates some of the chaos on black Friday," said shopper Lisa Rabin.
"I think it's pretty awesome," said shopper Mike Herrera.
"Great Idea," said shopper Lucille Baillargon.
But when you think of those who have to work the holiday, like the one million people who will work at Walmarts across the country on Thursday and not be with their families, the story changes.
"But at the same time i think it's nice for employees to spend time with their family too," said Rabin.
"I don't like it," said shopper George Pfeiffer.
"I think Black Friday is enough. People should be home with their families," said shopper Belinda Costa.
"The essential value of the holiday is lost," said shopper Adriana Garcia.
Various stores in South Florida will also keep their doors open on Thanksgiving Day.
The following stores will open at the designated times below:
6 a.m. - KMart
All day- Walmart
8 a.m. - Radio Shack
4 p.m. – Gap and Old Navy
5 p.m. - Best Buy
5 p.m. - Dick's Sporting Goods
5 p.m. - J.C. Penney
5 p.m. - Toys R Us
6 p.m. - Kohl's
6 p.m. - Sears
6 p.m. - Macy's
6 p.m. - Target
While some may think these hours help sales, research shows it actually doesn't. It just shifts some regular Black Friday shoppers up a day.
ShopperTrak shows over $2.5 billion was spent in stores last Thanksgiving.
Sounds successful but not really. Sales over the full four-day period from Thanksgiving to "Black Sunday" rose only 1% from 2012 to 2013.
From 2012 to 2013, Black Friday sales shrunk by $1.5 billion while Thanksgiving Day sales grew by $1.8 billion, according to ShopperTrak.
On top of that, opening a retail store is expensive and adding extra workers to handle Thanksgiving Day crowds can cut into margins.
Investment bank specialists in retail said that opening on Thanksgiving doesn't lead to increased sales but it sure leads to a lot of debate.
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