Malls are urging stores to stay open on Thanksgiving
Earlier this week we talked to a mall manager in Butte, Montana. She hid it well, but I could tell she was a little bummed she had to work on Thanksgiving.
Well, in some malls across America, it’s the managers who are making the stores stay open on the holiday.
The Wall Street Journal reports Wednesday that many malls are actually forcing small stores and restaurants to open for Thanksgiving shopping, by threatening fines in letters that say that staying open on Thanksgiving is mandatory.
The reason is that a lot of big anchor stores like Macy’s or JC Penney are open on Thanksgiving. And mall owners want shoppers to have a consistent experience. Of course, not every big-name store is opening on turkey day.
Nordstrom, Barnes and Noble, Gamestop, Costco and REI are among those staying closed on Thanksgiving Day. The Financial Times notes that many consumers are actually cheering the companies who are refusing to open.
In fact, nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition asking JC Penney to stay closed during Thanksgiving,so its employees can enjoy the holiday.
The National Retailers Federation said the Thanksgiving weekend accounts for about $50 billion in revenue each year, but the numbers have been falling over the last two years.
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