Are Black Friday stores saying goodbye to Thanksgiving hours?
We don't remember shoppers ever getting so riled up about a doorbuster as they do about Black Friday's ongoing encroachment on Thanksgiving's turf. A few retailers already have announced or hinted at their Black Friday plans for 2015, and for the first time we're seeing signs that perhaps the tide is starting to retreat.
Black Friday In-Store Hours: 2007-2014
We published this chart last year showing聽how Black Friday has been pushed earlier and earlier over the last eight years.
In 2007, the average start time was right around 5am on Black Friday.聽Retailers understood聽better than anyone that the early bird gets the worm, opening earlier and earlier until in 2014 the average start time was 6pm on Thursday. This shift has prompted many to wryly聽dub Thanksgiving "Black Thursday" or "Gray Thursday."
Charting聽a trajectory through to 2015,听it's easy to speculate that聽Thursday 4pm will be the聽norm for聽those retailers who are planning Thanksgiving hours.
Opting Out: Staples and GameStop
聽was the first relatively聽large retailer聽, pulling its start back聽to 6am on Black Friday for the first time since 2011.
鈥淲e want our customers and associates to enjoy Thanksgiving their own way,鈥� said Demos Parneros, president, North American stores and online, Staples. 鈥淥n Thanksgiving Day, customers can shop from home on Staples.com and then continue their shopping in stores starting at 6 a.m. on Black Friday. Whether our customers like the convenience of shopping online, in our stores or a combination of both, Staples will have amazing products at great prices throughout the holiday season.鈥�
聽likewise took a stand聽when it聽.
鈥淲e believe strongly that our customers and associates should have the opportunity to spend the Thanksgiving holiday relaxing with family and friends, and not worrying with the stress of where to find the best shopping deals. We know this is in stark contrast to what many other retailers are doing, but we are taking a stance to protect family time during this important holiday,鈥� said Mike Buskey, executive vice president and president of U.S. Stores.
It's worth noting, however, that although they posted a midnight start from 2011 to 2014, GameStop has never actually opened on Thanksgiving anyway. On the other hand, the move really does聽make it easier for GameStop employees to enjoy some turkey and cranberries with their families.
Even if it is just puffery in some corners,听it's clear that many retailers are聽starting to see value in dropping their in-store Thanksgiving sales.聽And they're not doing so quietly, instead choosing to making it part of their strategy to attract shoppers. The executive quotes we've seen so far strike a tone that is simultaneously nostalgic, defiant, and family-oriented, clearly setting themselves up as one of the good guys in the Gray Thursday debate.聽Look for more retailers to make their own pro-Thanksgiving announcements聽over聽the next few weeks.
Starting聽Even Earlier: Belk, Shopko and Harbor Freight (Rumored)
Our discussion of Belk and Shopko is built purely on rumors and speculation, but we also believe it's likely to be the way things go:聽While some retailers are聽decamping back to Friday, others will be pushing their hours even earlier.
聽hasn't made a formal announcement yet,听but in April聽that聽Thanksgiving in-store hours would be back for 2015 when an intrepid reporter asked the Green Bay-based company聽if the聽Bears-Packers game scheduled for Thanksgiving Day would affect their Black Friday plans. (Life in Green Bay revolves around the Packers, after all.)
鈥淲hile business at our Green Bay and Wisconsin locations may start off slower than normal that evening, as our Wisconsin-based customers root on their hometown team, we expect it will be business as usual for the vast majority of our stores.鈥�
We also heard this week that聽聽is rumored to be planning a 4pm聽Wednesday聽start time for their Black Friday Buys, and a 6pm start on Thanksgiving. While this rumor is truly聽unsubstantiated, it sounds plausible聽to our team of seasoned Black Friday experts.
Finally, it looks like聽聽is likely planning a Thanksgiving opening for the first time, if a聽is to be believed.聽While some others聽are claiming this page is the聽Black Friday ad, we have a lot of reservations about it. Where are the doorbusters? Why are all of the items on this page on sale now? Will they still be at those prices on Black Friday?聽The banner at the top lists sale dates of 11/26-11/29, however, which would extend Harbor Freight's usual 3-day sale to 4 days, beginning on Thanksgiving Day. But with so many questions lingering, it's not much to go on.
As we mentioned above, we're projecting that聽4pm Thursday will be the聽most popular start time for those retailers who are still willing to compete with your turkey dinner. On the other hand, it's not out of the question that some, like Belk, will repeat last year's hours rather than step even further into the fray.聽It's also a reasonable guess聽that some聽retailers might聽look to Wednesday as a way to sidestep the Thanksgiving controversy altogether.
No one聽from this side of the fence will be in any hurry to make their announcements since it only prolongs the backlash.
The Big Guns: Walmart, Target and Best Buy
It's too early to know聽what the big boxes have聽up their sleeves for 2015, but we can speculate.聽Large retailers like聽,听听补苍诲听聽are less sensitive to the financial impact of a Thanksgiving backlash than smaller outfits and will draw crowds regardless of what they decide to do thanks to the best-of-class doorbusters聽and inventory guarantees that they offer.聽That leads us to believe that we won't see much change for Black Friday 2015 - though we'd happy to be surprised.
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