Area stores buck trend to open on Thanksgiving Day

Big retailers with a presence in Southwest Ohio have announced they won’t open their doors on Thanksgiving Day, bucking the recent and widespread trend to open as early as possible for holiday shopping.

More than 40 retailers have announced they will shut down on the national holiday, reopening for Black Friday and the rest of the weekend. Closed retailers include hhgregg, Cabela’s, Menards, T.J. Maxx, Sam’s Club, Ikea, Staples, Barnes & Noble, and Home Depot.

The National Retail Federation expects sales in November and December — excluding automotive, gas and restaurant sales — to reach more than $655 billion, significantly higher than the 10-year average of 2.5 percent.

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Even Mall of America stunned some shoppers and retail experts by its decision to close on Thanksgiving. Stores like Walmart, Kmart and Macy’s will remain open on Thanksgiving, and would stand to lose major revenue to the competition if they closed.

Dan Schwaberow, a resident of Huber Heights, said bigger retailers have their own way of doing business, and he doesn’t think it will impact sales if they close for the holiday.

“If they lose from it, then they lose from it,” he said. “I don’t think they will.”

Serdar Durmusoglu, associate professor of marketing at the University of Dayton, has studied retail trends for more than a decade. He said retailers have plenty of reasons to feel more confident about shutting down for the holiday this year.

For one, Thanksgiving is earlier in the month — Nov. 24 — than it has been since 2012 when it landed on Nov. 22. It gives stores a few extra days of holiday shopping before Christmas.

Retailers count on Thanksgiving and holiday shopping to become profitable by the end of the year, Durmusoglu said, and an increase in spending for Halloween sales have given companies a head start on increased revenue.

According to the NRF’s annual survey, total spending for Halloween is estimated to reach $8.4 billion — an all-time high in the survey’s history.

“Retailers are a little more comfortable, I suspect,” Durmusoglu said.

Bob Riesbeck, president and CEO of hhgregg, said the closure of all of its 220 brick-and-mortar stores is “drawing a line in the sand” when business trends result in holiday shopping hours that continue to creep along earlier — and last longer — each year.

Each year about 40 percent of consumers begin their shopping before Halloween, according to the NRF.

“We stand behind our core values and beliefs of being a family-first company,” Riesbeck said. “It’s important to us that our associates are able to be home with their families on Thanksgiving, and we are encouraging our customers to do the same — knowing great deals will be available online, on Black Friday and through the weekend.”

He said the shift in culture will allow employees and shoppers to spend more quality time with family and friends. Durmusoglu said many retailers have to pay workers more compensation on holidays, and it saves money if the stores don’t incur the extra cost.

The holiday season increases the need for workers. Stores across the country, and locally, are hiring for an influx of positions. The Bon-Ton Stores Inc., parent of Elder-Beerman department stores, is hiring for 13,000 positions before the holiday season.

The U.S. Postal Service announced it had 110 temporary positions available in Dayton, a Kohl’s e-commerce fulfillment center in Monroe is looking to hire 1,000 seasonal employees, and Macy’s is set to hire 83,000 workers for the holidays.

“More people are going to shop and spend more dollars,” Durmusoglu said. “You need employees to unpack goods in warehouses, ship to stores, ship them out of the stores. That’s why retailers are giving more rewards to part-time workers if they come and work during the holiday.”

But that attempt of culture shift hasn’t translated in less demand or consumerism. Holiday sales are on track to increase by nearly 4 percent this year. Non-store sales are anticipated to increase to as much as $117 billion, according to the NRF. The appeal and rush of the one-day deals is lost on some local residents.

Ginny and Lee Highfill of Kettering said they’re pleased that stores, like Costco Wholesale, have chosen to close their doors on Thanksgiving. They won’t go shopping on Black Friday, although they’ve tried it in the past.

“I think it’s a great thing they’re closing for Thanksgiving,” he said. “I’m kind of sick of the whole idea of Christmas lights before the kids have even trick-or-treated yet.”

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