<p>Costco has never been open on Thanksgiving so putting out a press release to say they won’t be open is motivated by something. And, has some appeal apparently. But. I still think the mall will be a zoo.</p>
<p>People will rush out to the stores that are open because they think they are getting deals. And they will have finished their Thanksgiving meals, so it doesn’t interfere with their enjoyment of the holiday. And that’s the slippery slope that concerns me.</p>
<p>Silpat, I liked post #57 so much I unliked it so I could like it again…</p>
<p>Two years ago, I agreed to accompany D at midnight to the local mall. We had never done before and she had heard that there were great deals. (This is my frugal child). Frankly, maybe there were great “deals” for some people–we didn’t find that to be the case. But the thing that struck us the most was the umm…people. Mostly young people with crude, rude language and behavior. And sadly, a lot of very young kids in strollers, many whining and crying, because they should have been in bed! What were the parents thinking?? All this to save a few $$??</p>
<p>Not doing that again…and yes, I like the idea of one day for store employees to be off.</p>
<p>That was my observation 2 years ago, too. There was also a surprisingly large number of moms with teenage daughters who wanted to try on prom dresses at 2 o’clock in the morning for some reason. Go figure.</p>
<p>For a seemingly million years I’ve enjoyed Black Friday shopping. It was really fun to get up early in the wee hours and go shopping. The people I met were a genial crowd enjoying a once-a -year experience.
With on-line shopping it’s become unnecessary for most.</p>
<p>“But, there seems to be a tone in this thread and more interestingly to me in the Costco press release that suggests that their competitors who choose to open are tacky or exploiting their employees or something.”</p>
<p>Oh, come on. It IS kind of tacky for non-essential stores to be open on Thanksgiving. They know when they open that they’re doing so for no reason other than chasing the almighty dollar.</p>
<p>I’m with Hunt. This is a trend that I don’t care for, either. It used to be fun to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving - there was hustle and bustle, there was a sense of excitement, etc. Nowadays it’s all a zoo because everyone thinks they’re getting some kind of tremendous deal on junk they don’t need. </p>
<p>Well, of course they’re chasing the almighty dollar and they’re losing more and more of it to online stores. This strategy is obviously working so I’m not about to bash a business for cashing in on a trend. That’s what they do. And. I’m not giving Costco bonus points for not participating in the trend since most of these Thanksgiving Day mall shoppers would not pass up that experience to head over to Costco for a minivan full of whatever. They’re not the same thing at all. Personally, I’m not a big fan of either. But, if others want to go and they do, I’m certainly okay with it.I just think the idea that society suffers by the mall opening at 6 on Thanksgiving is slightly overblown. Maybe.</p>
<p>Costco does pay its employees holiday pay–1.5 or 2x when they gave to work other holidays. The staff I know there are generally very happy employees. I don’t like the Black Friday madness at our local costco–it’s saner to wait a bit, even if they sell out of a few things. </p>
<p>I was speaking with a senior executive at a retail store, he said by opening on Thanksgiving, their total sale is the same as when they were only open for 3 days. The problem is if they don’t open on Thanksgiving then they’ll lose a lot of $$ to other stores that are open. I think the stores should just make a pack not to open, and the consumers should just boycott.</p>
<p>I not only don’t go shopping on Thanksgiving, I don’t go shopping the day after either.
I do enjoy going to movies however.</p>
<p>Companies can’t make pacts to not compete. There are anti-trust issues there.</p>
<p>Hmmm…I know the two grocery stores in my town used to have a pact to have only one store open on major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July), and they took turns. They only opened in the morning also.</p>
<p>My daughter had to work on Thanksgiving because she worked at a cinema place. But she could trade with other kids if she didn’t want the hours. The best I’ve done shopping is online for the day after Thanksgiving but I don’t like to be in crowded places, so no shopping for me anywhere that weekend.</p>
<p>We never go out shopping on Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>I personally believe that we should have three universal, no-work-except-for-essential-employees holidays: Thanksgiving, the 4th of July, and Election Day. These are important days for every American and no one should be required to work unless one is professional/essential personnel. Retail clerks and service workers should not be slaves. Even the Victorians, with their child labor and 16-hour factory days, acknowledged the need for universal holidays. If a business is made or broken by one day of sales (i.e. Thanksgiving) it’s already pretty marginal.</p>
<p>I noticed a lot of posts mentioning online shopping. Online shopping is one of the reasons why stores are staying open on Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>Also I do have a tip for all of you taking advantage of holiday deals. Macy’s sales on the Saturday after Thanksgiving are the same as their Black Friday sales, but the store won’t be as crowded on Saturday.</p>
<p>the worst part about Black Friday deals are that they aren’t the cheapest deals of the year</p>
<p>A lot of the stores also offer online shopping. I can get in the car, gas up, sit in traffic, hassle with finding a parking space, deal with the crowds, walk around the store looking for a new lamp at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or I can go to their website, find much more inventory, and do the deal from my comfy sofa while wearing my pjs. Really not much of a dilemma there.</p>
<p>We did the wee hours on Friday a few years ago just to see what all the fuss is about. It was a lot of fun, I have to say. We picked up two nice sweaters and a pair of boots at good prices. I don’t think the sweaters would have been there in those colors and sizes a few hours later, and the boots probably would have been gone altogether. Don’t know about online or whether rain checks were available. It was a kick to do once. Maybe again sometime. It did feel like a community event.</p>