From the perspective of a retailer and a brick and mortar location, I do think that retailers should open on Thanksgiving Day. As a business owner, I want to make sure that I am open for business for customers’ last-minte needs, especially if something goes wrong with the preparation of their Thanksgiving feast. The roasting pan is too small, I just found our that Jared is bring his girlfriend – AND her three children from her previous relationship – and I suddenly need more potatoes, or I guess “non-perishable” doesn’t apply to jarred gravy.
As a shopper, especially this year, there are fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas to shop. My weekends and evenings in November are already jam-packed with other events, and I HAVE to buy gifts as early as possible once I have lists in hand, lists that are frequently handed out at our Thanksgiving Day celebration after we’ve drawn names for our grab bag. Some of us even peruse the sale papers for last-minute ideas and see an unbeatable price that the retailer claims will not be repeated, supplies are limited, or is a price that is slashed so deeply that the item is irresistable.
For some families, the thrill of going shopping with other family members is just as memorable as watching the Lions play whoever they are playing on Thanksgiving Day, and stuffing themselves with all the tasty morsels of food, then crashing on the couch afterwards.
By the way, it’s called Black Friday because retailers allegedly finally start to operate in the “black” instead of deficit with the huge sales over Thanskgiving weekend. In a free enterprise system, Black Friday and Thanksgiving Night sales are here to stay.
