Believe it or not, Black Friday is less than two months away which means Thanksgiving is even sooner, and in 2017, you’ll have far fewer options to shop at on the big holiday. For a while, the trend was that stores were starting Black Friday sales earlier and earlier in the week and it brought about a lot of complaints. Now, the growing trend is that stores are staying closed through Thanksgiving Day and the list is getting longer every single year.
As stores started opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, it soon moved to the afternoon. The next year, they opened on Thanksgiving morning and stayed operating through the weekend while many complained that employees shouldn’t be forced away from their families on the holiday.
Now, more and more people are doing their shopping online and there isn’t as big of a need for physical stores to be open as long. Along with that, many employers don’t want to take time away from its employees and their families.
As stores believe more in the holidays and less about sales, the number of businesses keeping their doors closed on Thanksgiving Day is growing. As reported by Best Black Friday , it is expected that more than 75 well-known stores will stay shuttered on Thanksgiving this year and open on Friday.
Best Black Friday has actually received full confirmation from each of the following stores that they will stay closed on Thanksgiving.
- A.C. Moore
- Abt Electronics
- Academy Sports + Outdoors
- At Home
- BJ’s Wholesale Club
- Blain’s Farm and Fleet
- Burlington
- Cabela’s
- Cost Plus World Market
- Costco
- Craft Warehouse
- Crate and Barrel
- DSW – Designer Shoe Warehouse
- Ethan Allen
- Gardner-White Furniture
- Guitar Center
- H&M
- Half Price Books
- Harbor Freight
- Hobby Lobby
- Home Depot
- HomeGoods
- Homesense
- IKEA
- JOANN Fabric and Craft Stores
- Jos. A. Bank
- La-Z-Boy (all corporately owned stores)
- Lowe’s
- Marshalls
- Mattress Firm
- Micro Center
- Music & Arts
- Neiman Marcus
- Office Depot and OfficeMax
- Outdoor Research
- P.C. Richard & Son
- Party City
- Patagonia
- Petco
- PetSmart
- Pier 1 Imports
- Publix
- Raymour & Flanigan Furniture
- Sam’s Club
- Sierra Trading Post
- Sportsman’s Warehouse
- Sprint (Corporate & Dealer Owned Stores; Mall Kiosks May Open)
- Staples
- Sur La Table
- The Container Store
- The Original Mattress Factory
- TJ Maxx
- Tractor Supply
- Trollbeads
- Von Maur
- West Marine
As of Oct. 4, 2017, the list of stores staying closed sits at 56, but it is expected that at least 20 more will announce similar plans soon. It is still possible that stores may decide to change things and open its doors on Thanksgiving, but for now, their plans are to stay closed.
For those wanting to head out and shop at REI for Black Friday, you won’t be able to do it again this year. Not only will they stay closed on Thursday, Nov. 23, but they won’t open on Friday either.
Black Friday is indeed the biggest shopping day of the year, but many people are hopping into the digital age and wanting to do their purchasing online. Due to that fact, many retailers aren’t opening their doors as early as they have in past years, and in 2017, many won’t open on Thanksgiving at all as this list shows. For those that still love the thrill of the chase, there will still be stores open on Turkey Day, but you’ll have to wait for some of your other favorites.
[Featured Image by John Moore/Getty Images]