This Thanksgiving season, American shoppers will have to pay attention to see if their favourite stores are opening or shuttering their doors this holiday season. This 2014 season will see the latest culmination in the fight of many big box stores in their decision to either open on Thanksgiving or let their employees spend the day with their families. 2014 has seen an increasing number of stores vowing to give their employees the day off from Costco, to Home Depot and T.J. Maxx. These 3 stores along with two dozen more are making a stand this holiday season by closing their doors to the public and allowing their employees to spend the holiday with their family before the major Black Friday sales.

This contradicts many other stores like Macy’s and Walmart who open earlier and earlier every year to try and entice customers to start their shopping early. This fact is appreciated and utilized by many Americans but an increasing number are saying no to this “Black Thursday” as evidenced by the 60,000 people who liked the campaign Boycott Black Thursday on Facebook.

I personally believe that more stores should close for Thanksgiving as by doing this the stores will provide their employees with valuable family time. This is especially important as this day off will allow employees a change to recharge and relax before the hustle and bustle of Black Friday the next day. This is important to note as this will help to ensure that all employees are wide awake and prepared to assist customers which will lead to better all around service. I know that closing on any day can be tough for a company as it means you are unable to make a profit, but sometimes a little family time can mean so much more then a simple dollar.

http://time.com/money/3556863/thanksgiving-hours-closed-black-thursday/

https://www.popularresistance.org/big-retailers-make-low-paid-workers-into-exploited-turkeys-on-thanksgiving/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicaprobus/these-chain-stores-are-actually-giving-their-employees-thank