Even if stores ring up sales on Thanksgiving, "retailers could risk upsetting their most loyal customers who routinely shop their stores year-round," said Fred Thompson, LoyaltyOne retail practice leader. "Retailers should identify who their best customers are and respond with Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales strategies accordingly."
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For all the irresistible deals being dangled by retailers this Thanksgiving, 50 percent of Americans think shopping all day on Thanksgiving is a terrible idea, according to research from LoyaltyOne. Another 33 percent of consumers think being open all day on Thanksgiving is a terrific idea, and the remaining 17 percent are undecided.
View full sizeSale signs hang from the aisles at the Target Store in North Olmsted on Black Friday 2013. Fifty percent of Millennials (ages 18-24) and 48 percent of consumers ages 25 to 34 think Thanksgiving is a perfect day to shop, compared to their parents and elders.
Only 16 percent of those 55 and older like the idea of stores being open all day on Thanksgiving.
The LoyaltyOne survey also found that 37 percent of men like the idea of stores staying open all day on Thanksgiving, versus only 29 percent of women.
"The consumer views provide a window into the likelihood that all-day holiday shopping on Thanksgiving Day will become a reality," LoyaltyOne said in a written statement. LoyaltyOne, based in Toronto with a U.S. office in Cincinnati, designs and operates customer-relationship programs and services for Fortune 1000 companies. It polled 1,001 consumers nationwide last month.
"Savvy retailers put the customer at the center of all their decisions," said Fred Thompson, LoyaltyOne retail practice leader, in the same statement. Even if stores ring up sales on Thanksgiving, "retailers could risk upsetting their most loyal customers who routinely shop their stores year-round. Retailers should identify who their best customers are and respond with Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales strategies accordingly."
Most of the stores that plan to open on Thanksgiving, from Kmart's 23-year streak to Macy's decision last year to break a 155-year tradition of keeping its doors closed, say they are doing so in response to demand from their customers. Kmart is opening at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving, while Macy's is joining those that are opening at 6 p.m.
But with the National Retail Federation and other retail trade groups forecasting rosy sales of around 4.1 percent, and competitors announcing ever-earlier hours and even-lower prices, fewer stores are willing to risk stay closed.
Retailers that are definitely closed this Thanksgiving include: BJ's Wholesale Club, Costco Wholesale Corp., Heinen's Fine Foods, Jo-Ann Stores, Playmatters Toys, Sam's Club, and Trader Joe's.
Jodie Ferguson, a professor of marketing at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Business in Richmond, Virginia, said via email that "last year's sales on Thanksgiving, coupled with the earlier openings this year, suggest that consumers are willing to take advantage of the early shopping even on a traditionally family-focused day."
But that may not translate to feeling good about the store for offering those doorbusters, she said. "Consumers took to social media last year to voice their outrage and vowed personal boycotts of retailers that took away employees' day off," she said.
"A consumer may choose to leave her family turkey dinner to shop for an advertised deal, but may also have strong negative feelings toward the retailer for forcing her to shop on Thanksgiving in order to receive that deal," Ferguson added.
Shopping Days Left Until Christmas