Thanksgiving 2016 Store Closures: Which Retailers Will Wait Until Black Friday?

METRO DETROIT, MI — Southeast Michigan malls haven’t yet announced their Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday hours, but several national retailers have already said their stores will remain dark until the Friday after America’s favorite holiday.

Their decisions to hold off on door-buster sales come after years of dissension among employees — some who like the double- or even triple-overtime overtime pay and others who want to stay home with their families for turkey leftovers, football games and sappy holiday movies.

The list of stores that won’t be open include big names like Apple, Barnes & Noble, Burlington Coat Factory, DSW, Nordstrom and T.J. Maxx.

And in a change from past years, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, will stay shuttered on Thanksgiving, and open at 5 a.m. on Black Friday. The mall has been open on Thanksgiving Day since 2012, but mall officials told The Associated Press they want to offer workers time with their families on the holiday.
Retailing experts are waiting to see if the change of heart by the country’s largest mall will prompt other retailers to do the same. So far, BestBlackFriday.com says 42 stores will be closed on Thanksgiving — see the full list below.

Three states — Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine — have laws that require stores to close on holidays.
Consumers are ready to buy, and one forecaster expects sales in November and December to increase a healthy 3.6 percent to $655.8 billion, says the National Retail Federation. That’s significantly higher than the 10-year average of 2.5 percent and above the seven-year average of 3.4 percent since recovery began in 2009. Online sales should increase between 7 and 10 percent to as much as $117 billion.

• Tell Us: Are you bummed about the growing list of stores that will remain closed on Thanksgiving Day or relieved? Tell us what you think in the comments.

“All of the fundamentals are in a good place, giving strength to consumers and leading us to believe that this will be a very positive holiday season,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “This year hasn’t been perfect, starting with a long summer and unseasonably warm fall, but our forecast reflects the very realistic steady momentum of the economy and industry expectations.”
Here is the BestBlackFriday.com list of stores closed on Thanksgiving:

• A.C. Moore (Allow employees to spend time with family)
• American Girl
• AT&T (Customer Service closed; select retail locations closed)
• Barnes & Noble (Allow booksellers to spend time with family)
• Bed Bath & Beyond (Select locations)
• BJ’s Wholesale Club
• Burlington Coat Factory (Allow employees to spend time with family)
• Cabela’s (Retail closed; call centers open)
• Christmas Tree Shops (Select locations)
• Costco
• Crate and Barrel
• Dillard’s (Allow employees to spend time with family)
• GameStop (5 a.m. Black Friday opening)
• Gardner-White Furniture (8 a.m. Black Friday opening)
• Guitar Center
• Hobby Lobby
• Home Depot
• HomeGoods (Allow employees to spend time with family)
• IKEA
• Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores
• Lowe’s
• Mall of America
• Marshalls (Allow employees to spend time with family)
• Mattress Firm
• Menards
• Neiman Marcus
• Nordstrom (non-store employees working)
• Outdoor Research
• P.C. Richard & Son
• Patagonia
• Petco
• PetSmart
• Pier 1 Imports (Allow employees to spend time with family)
• Publix
• Raymour and Flanagan Furniture (8 a.m. Black Friday opening)
• Sam’s Club
• Sierra Trading Post
• Staples
• The Container Store
• T.J. Maxx (Allow employees to spend time with family)
• Tractor Supply
• Von Maur (9 a.m. Black Friday opening)

Of course, if you’re determined to shop on Thanksgiving, Walmart, Kohl’s, Target, Kmart, and Toys R Us. They’ve even released toy lists for the holiday shopping season.

Written by Deb Belt and Beth Dalbey

Patch file photo