Thanksgiving Shopping

[KDS]

As a former retail employee, I think this is the right forum to voice my opinion on a recent disturbing trend.  The trend of major stores opening up on Thanksgiving Day so people can get a jump start on their Christmas shopping. 

It started a few years ago with stores opening at midnight on Thanksgiving Night / Black Friday morning. 

Now, stores are opening as soon as 4pm to do business on Thanksgiving. 

As a former retail employee, I had two days that I was guaranteed to have off - Thanksgiving and Christmas.  If I still worked in retail today, I would likely only be guaranteed Christmas.  And its only a matter of time before stores start opening their doors on Christmas Day. 

My plea to everyone is to just do the right thing and not go shopping on Thanksgiving.  There will be sales all day Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (Cyber Monday).  There is absolutely no reason to go shopping on Thanksgiving.  If people stayed away from the stores, they'd stop opening for Thanksgiving.

I applaud Marshalls / TJ MAX / Homegoods for taking a stand and proudly advertising that they will NOT be open Thanksgiving. 

[Emily]

As a former retail employee, I think this is the right forum to voice my opinion on a recent disturbing trend.  The trend of major stores opening up on Thanksgiving Day so people can get a jump start on their Christmas shopping. 

It started a few years ago with stores opening at midnight on Thanksgiving Night / Black Friday morning. 

Now, stores are opening as soon as 4pm to do business on Thanksgiving. 

As a former retail employee, I had two days that I was guaranteed to have off - Thanksgiving and Christmas.  If I still worked in retail today, I would likely only be guaranteed Christmas.  And its only a matter of time before stores start opening their doors on Christmas Day. 

My plea to everyone is to just do the right thing and not go shopping on Thanksgiving.  There will be sales all day Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (Cyber Monday).  There is absolutely no reason to go shopping on Thanksgiving.  If people stayed away from the stores, they'd stop opening for Thanksgiving.

I applaud Marshalls / TJ MAX / Homegoods for taking a stand and proudly advertising that they will NOT be open Thanksgiving. 

Hear, hear KDS. I didn't know this was happening. It was not so long ago that my dad sent me scouring the countryside for a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving because he realized he'd forgotten too late to make one.
NOTHING was open, and that's a good thing. Everyone got to have the day off to celebrate a holiday that all Americans have in common.
All Americans, regardless of their position on a corporate hierarchy, should be able to have Thanksgiving off.

[the captain]

I despise holiday shopping in general and one of my proudest moments was to convince my family to forego presents among adults entirely, instead contributing to a charity selected by one family member on a rotating basis. (We still buy presents for kids.) So you never see me intentionally shopping on Black Friday or Thanksgiving regardless.

But differentiation ought to be made: if a sole proprietor wants to stay open, fine. But I 100% sympathize with major stores deciding to remain open, which forces (low-paid) employees to skip or interrupt their holidays even while one can safely assume nobody in a leadership position or even in the corporate offices is working. (I've seen ONE of our exec leaders here ONE day this week so far...and next month will be laughable.)

What's the line between those two? Not sure. I'm just good at being an asshole and finding problems 😉

[Emily]

I despise holiday shopping in general and one of my proudest moments was to convince my family to forego presents among adults entirely, instead contributing to a charity selected by one family member on a rotating basis. (We still buy presents for kids.) So you never see me intentionally shopping on Black Friday or Thanksgiving regardless.

But differentiation ought to be made: if a sole proprietor wants to stay open, fine. But I 100% sympathize with major stores deciding to remain open, which forces (low-paid) employees to skip or interrupt their holidays even while one can safely assume nobody in a leadership position or even in the corporate offices is working. (I've seen ONE of our exec leaders here ONE day this week so far...and next month will be laughable.)

What's the line between those two? Not sure. I'm just good at being an asshole and finding problems 😉

I love everything you say in your first paragraph. The second, if an individual wants to work and is not coercing others to do so, that's fine, but there is a fuzzy line in which coercion can be done by implication, so I'd say only the owner of a business may work. But now the laws are getting too hard to manage, so I throw my hands up and say "no! Everyone shuts down except necessary services!"
There's a point where my laziness overtakes my philosophy and on some issues that point is quickly reached.

[KDS]

I despise holiday shopping in general and one of my proudest moments was to convince my family to forego presents among adults entirely, instead contributing to a charity selected by one family member on a rotating basis. (We still buy presents for kids.) So you never see me intentionally shopping on Black Friday or Thanksgiving regardless.

But differentiation ought to be made: if a sole proprietor wants to stay open, fine. But I 100% sympathize with major stores deciding to remain open, which forces (low-paid) employees to skip or interrupt their holidays even while one can safely assume nobody in a leadership position or even in the corporate offices is working. (I've seen ONE of our exec leaders here ONE day this week so far...and next month will be laughable.)

What's the line between those two? Not sure. I'm just good at being an asshole and finding problems 😉

I love everything you say in your first paragraph. The second, if an individual wants to work and is not coercing others to do so, that's fine, but there is a fuzzy line in which coercion can be done by implication, so I'd say only the owner of a business may work. But now the laws are getting too hard to manage, so I throw my hands up and say "no! Everyone shuts down except necessary services!"
There's a point where my laziness overtakes my philosophy and on some issues that point is quickly reached.

The only way to stop the madness that has become Thanksgiving / Black Friday is for people to stop showing up at the stores.  Shouldn't Cyber Monday have rendered Black Friday obsolete by now?  I think there was even a fatality at a store in recent years during a mad Black Friday rush. 

Thanksgiving as a holiday tends to get mostly ignored anyway as stores seem to shift right from Halloween to Christmas mode. 

[Douchepool]

Therein lies the main problem. Stores wouldn't open on these types of holidays if people didn't want to shop on said holidays. You can only blame the consumer base; the consumer base would rather shop on holidays than spend time with family and friends.

Of course, considering people think Thanksgiving is a "racist" holiday we probably shouldn't be too surprised that people don't much celebrate it anymore.

[KDS]

Therein lies the main problem. Stores wouldn't open on these types of holidays if people didn't want to shop on said holidays. You can only blame the consumer base; the consumer base would rather shop on holidays than spend time with family and friends.

Of course, considering people think Thanksgiving is a "racist" holiday we probably shouldn't be too surprised that people don't much celebrate it anymore.

I suppose people who will camp out and then tackle a store employee and physically assault other shoppers to try to save some money on cheap merchandise aren't really interested in family type stuff. 

[MaryUSA]

Hi all,

I do think that stores should be closed on Thanksgiving Day.  To me Black Friday is time enough to shop.  Yes, there are those who want to get a jump with the holiday shopping by doing it on Thanksgiving Day.  While some people might not have family to be with there are a lot who do.  I do know that most stores don't mind being open on Thanksgiving Day.  Yet there should be some days to relax and enjoy life.  I do know that some people might not like their families.  There are also people who like to be seen holiday shopping.  That way they can say look at us we are good due to shopping.  That is considered showy.  Cyber Monday is a great addition.  I would like to have friends to my house during the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I like the stores that aren't open on Thanksgiving Day.  I am not a Thanksgiving Day shopper.  I would rather eat, drink, read or watch TV that day.  I know that there will always be people into the all mighty dollar.  Profit, profit, profit!!!  How about goodness, a day of relaxation and enjoying the pleasure of each other's company. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!

[The Cincinnati Kid]

Agree with everything said so far.  I can't understand why stores continue to open earlier.  The same people that would show up on Thanksgiving would still show up on Black Friday.  Not to mention a lot of the sales going on aren't actually any lower than other sales throughout the year, including the rest of the time up to Christmas (of course people don't realize that, though).  I will say that I do enjoy Black Friday, as it's a good kick start for me get into the holiday spirit.  Haven't actually gone Black Friday shopping in a few years, though. 

[RangeRoverA1]

I suppose people who will camp out and then tackle a store employee and physically assault other shoppers to try to save some money on cheap merchandise aren't really interested in family type stuff. 

That's their business. Reading this thread, you all care too much about random shoppers that you'll never meet again. Me, I wouldn't bat an eye. & you see family every day anyway. Big deal.

[Mujan, 8@$+@Rc| of a Blue Wizard]

Black Friday is everything that is wrong with our modern consumerist BUY SPEND ACQUIRE DEBT culture all rolled up in one day. I never understood the appeal, I see videos of people fighting like animals over a stupid TV or toaster they dont even need, I hear of people camping outside to buy THEMSELVES stuff, people skipping out on a nice meal with their families to take part in the madness, and then there was that guy at wal-mart stampeded to death over it. Its a disgusting tradition and the people who take part ought to be ashamed. The fact that it has basically eclipsed Thanksgiving and will continue to overshadow it, is indicative of what a sick world we live in today. Essentially the corporations have brainwashed us into foregoing what's really important--quality time with loved ones--to make them a little bit richer. And we willing do it because we value money and savings more than our time and families.

/Rant

(Forgive me for the judgmental rhetoric. I used to work retail too so I know the hell it can be. And all the smug assholes "oh it sucks you have to work today!" as they encourage it by being there. Bah.)

[KDS]

I suppose people who will camp out and then tackle a store employee and physically assault other shoppers to try to save some money on cheap merchandise aren't really interested in family type stuff. 

That's their business. Reading this thread, you all care too much about random shoppers that you'll never meet again. Me, I wouldn't bat an eye. & you see family every day anyway. Big deal.

In the US, holidays are a big deal.  And, you don't see family every day.  There are members of my family that I really only get to see a few times a year.  One of those days happens to be Thanksgiving.  So, if I were still in retail, and had to work that day, I would not be happy. 

RR, I think you're missing the point of the thread.  Basically, corporate creed is forcing low level employees to work on a day that was long considered a set day off.  Granted, if you work in broadcasting, as a civil servant, or a hospital, you go into that line of work knowing that you have to work odd hours. 

But, if you're a retail employee, making just over minimum wage and zero to no benefits, there's no reason to have them work on Thanksgiving. 

[The Shift]

Black Friday is everything that is wrong with our modern consumerist BUY SPEND ACQUIRE DEBT culture all rolled up in one day. I never understood the appeal, I see videos of people fighting like animals over a stupid TV or toaster they dont even need, I hear of people camping outside to buy THEMSELVES stuff, people skipping out on a nice meal with their families to take part in the madness, and then there was that guy at wal-mart stampeded to death over it. Its a disgusting tradition and the people who take part ought to be ashamed. The fact that it has basically eclipsed Thanksgiving and will continue to overshadow it, is indicative of what a sick world we live in today. Essentially the corporations have brainwashed us into foregoing what's really important--quality time with loved ones--to make them a little bit richer. And we willing do it because we value money and savings more than our time and families.

/Rant

(Forgive me for the judgmental rhetoric. I used to work retail too so I know the hell it can be. And all the smug assholes "oh it sucks you have to work today!" as they encourage it by being there. Bah.)

Good post. If only stores went back to closing Sundays and Bank Holidays, and charged fair prices year-round (some rack up prices so that "sale" prices appear better value),  more people would spend time with their families. No one wants to shop on these crazy days - advertisers and marketers make them think they're missing our if they don't get something they don't really need at prices they can't really afford, with money they don't reall have. Even the news media's jolly ho-ho-ho reports of sale madness contributes to the idea that daft buying is some sort of jolly tradition that needs to be maintained. If we cancelled Sunday shopping, someone would set up a Sunday Shopping Preservation Trust, register as a charity and lobby for its return as part of our traditional holiday jolly traditional jolliness.

Only God works Sunday; only Santa works Christmas. And the firemen. God bless the firemen.

[KDS]

Black Friday is everything that is wrong with our modern consumerist BUY SPEND ACQUIRE DEBT culture all rolled up in one day. I never understood the appeal, I see videos of people fighting like animals over a stupid TV or toaster they dont even need, I hear of people camping outside to buy THEMSELVES stuff, people skipping out on a nice meal with their families to take part in the madness, and then there was that guy at wal-mart stampeded to death over it. Its a disgusting tradition and the people who take part ought to be ashamed. The fact that it has basically eclipsed Thanksgiving and will continue to overshadow it, is indicative of what a sick world we live in today. Essentially the corporations have brainwashed us into foregoing what's really important--quality time with loved ones--to make them a little bit richer. And we willing do it because we value money and savings more than our time and families.

/Rant

(Forgive me for the judgmental rhetoric. I used to work retail too so I know the hell it can be. And all the smug assholes "oh it sucks you have to work today!" as they encourage it by being there. Bah.)

Good post. If only stores went back to closing Sundays and Bank Holidays, and charged fair prices year-round (some rack up prices so that "sale" prices appear better value),  more people would spend time with their families. No one wants to shop on these crazy days - advertisers and marketers make them think they're missing our if they don't get something they don't really need at prices they can't really afford, with money they don't reall have. Even the news media's jolly ho-ho-ho reports of sale madness contributes to the idea that daft buying is some sort of jolly tradition that needs to be maintained. If we cancelled Sunday shopping, someone would set up a Sunday Shopping Preservation Trust, register as a charity and lobby for its return as part of our traditional holiday jolly traditional jolliness.

Only God works Sunday; only Santa works Christmas. And the firemen. God bless the firemen.

I think this is a two way street.  The general public should actually wise up and say, "Hey, we're not going shopping on Thanksgiving."  Or, "We're not getting up at 3am on our day off to go shopping."

If the stores opened their doors on Thanksgiving night, or very early Friday morning, and hardly anybody was there, they just simply wouldn't do it anymore. 

I know this is a pipe dream, but just saying the blame isn't 100% on the corporations. 

[Mujan, 8@$+@Rc| of a Blue Wizard]

Black Friday is everything that is wrong with our modern consumerist BUY SPEND ACQUIRE DEBT culture all rolled up in one day. I never understood the appeal, I see videos of people fighting like animals over a stupid TV or toaster they dont even need, I hear of people camping outside to buy THEMSELVES stuff, people skipping out on a nice meal with their families to take part in the madness, and then there was that guy at wal-mart stampeded to death over it. Its a disgusting tradition and the people who take part ought to be ashamed. The fact that it has basically eclipsed Thanksgiving and will continue to overshadow it, is indicative of what a sick world we live in today. Essentially the corporations have brainwashed us into foregoing what's really important--quality time with loved ones--to make them a little bit richer. And we willing do it because we value money and savings more than our time and families.

/Rant

(Forgive me for the judgmental rhetoric. I used to work retail too so I know the hell it can be. And all the smug assholes "oh it sucks you have to work today!" as they encourage it by being there. Bah.)

Good post. If only stores went back to closing Sundays and Bank Holidays, and charged fair prices year-round (some rack up prices so that "sale" prices appear better value),  more people would spend time with their families. No one wants to shop on these crazy days - advertisers and marketers make them think they're missing our if they don't get something they don't really need at prices they can't really afford, with money they don't reall have. Even the news media's jolly ho-ho-ho reports of sale madness contributes to the idea that daft buying is some sort of jolly tradition that needs to be maintained. If we cancelled Sunday shopping, someone would set up a Sunday Shopping Preservation Trust, register as a charity and lobby for its return as part of our traditional holiday jolly traditional jolliness.

Only God works Sunday; only Santa works Christmas. And the firemen. God bless the firemen.

I think this is a two way street.  The general public should actually wise up and say, "Hey, we're not going shopping on Thanksgiving."  Or, "We're not getting up at 3am on our day off to go shopping."

If the stores opened their doors on Thanksgiving night, or very early Friday morning, and hardly anybody was there, they just simply wouldn't do it anymore. 

I know this is a pipe dream, but just saying the blame isn't 100% on the corporations. 

The vast majority of people are easily led and manipulated. As John Manning pointed out, the news/media do a great job brainwashing people into thinking theyre missing out on amazing savings if they dont take part. Stores could just charge the same fair prices year round rather than manufacture sales events--in fact, the sales they advertise are often made up. They post marked up prices and then advertise savings by charging the same or slightly less than they normally do and people believe it. The whole sorry spectacle is pushed on us as a happy tradition we should all love to take part in and thats somehow fun and must be maintained, and people accept that.

I agree the only way to stop it is people collectively deciding quality time is more important than standing in line for stupid electronics we dont even need. But its victim-blaming to pretend that this is all the fault of consumers. The corporations definitely fan the flames and encourage the whole stupid phenomenon. In fact, black friday sales were down this year if I recall, and the news went on and on about it the next day as if it was some failing on OUR part, that people are slowly beginning to wake up and not take part.

[KDS]

Black Friday is everything that is wrong with our modern consumerist BUY SPEND ACQUIRE DEBT culture all rolled up in one day. I never understood the appeal, I see videos of people fighting like animals over a stupid TV or toaster they dont even need, I hear of people camping outside to buy THEMSELVES stuff, people skipping out on a nice meal with their families to take part in the madness, and then there was that guy at wal-mart stampeded to death over it. Its a disgusting tradition and the people who take part ought to be ashamed. The fact that it has basically eclipsed Thanksgiving and will continue to overshadow it, is indicative of what a sick world we live in today. Essentially the corporations have brainwashed us into foregoing what's really important--quality time with loved ones--to make them a little bit richer. And we willing do it because we value money and savings more than our time and families.

/Rant

(Forgive me for the judgmental rhetoric. I used to work retail too so I know the hell it can be. And all the smug assholes "oh it sucks you have to work today!" as they encourage it by being there. Bah.)

Good post. If only stores went back to closing Sundays and Bank Holidays, and charged fair prices year-round (some rack up prices so that "sale" prices appear better value),  more people would spend time with their families. No one wants to shop on these crazy days - advertisers and marketers make them think they're missing our if they don't get something they don't really need at prices they can't really afford, with money they don't reall have. Even the news media's jolly ho-ho-ho reports of sale madness contributes to the idea that daft buying is some sort of jolly tradition that needs to be maintained. If we cancelled Sunday shopping, someone would set up a Sunday Shopping Preservation Trust, register as a charity and lobby for its return as part of our traditional holiday jolly traditional jolliness.

Only God works Sunday; only Santa works Christmas. And the firemen. God bless the firemen.

I think this is a two way street.  The general public should actually wise up and say, "Hey, we're not going shopping on Thanksgiving."  Or, "We're not getting up at 3am on our day off to go shopping."

If the stores opened their doors on Thanksgiving night, or very early Friday morning, and hardly anybody was there, they just simply wouldn't do it anymore. 

I know this is a pipe dream, but just saying the blame isn't 100% on the corporations. 

The vast majority of people are easily led and manipulated. As John Manning pointed out, the news/media do a great job brainwashing people into thinking theyre missing out on amazing savings if they dont take part. Stores could just charge the same fair prices year round rather than manufacture sales events--in fact, the sales they advertise are often made up. They post marked up prices and then advertise savings by charging the same or slightly less than they normally do and people believe it. The whole sorry spectacle is pushed on us as a happy tradition we should all love to take part in and thats somehow fun and must be maintained, and people accept that.

I agree the only way to stop it is people collectively deciding quality time is more important than standing in line for stupid electronics we dont even need. But its victim-blaming to pretend that this is all the fault of consumers. The corporations definitely fan the flames and encourage the whole stupid phenomenon. In fact, black friday sales were down this year if I recall, and the news went on and on about it the next day as if it was some failing on OUR part, that people are slowly beginning to wake up and not take part.

I agree 100%.  That's why I pointed out that it's a two-way street.  It's very easy to blame the big bad corporations.  But the blame is equally shared by the consumers and the corporations.